The Take Of A Lifetime
by mantisbelle
Summary: It was supposed to be a normal job. Well, normal for someone who usually robbed banks. James Ironwood is returning to his line of work, but painfully aware of everything that was on the line. With a troublemaking red-eyed rookie under his wing, the stakes seem higher than ever for James. But that's the least of his worries when there's a quarter million dollars on the line. Right?
1. The Drawing Board

It had been a routine job.

It had been a routine job that was supposed to go the same as every other job, every other robbery.

His tires weren't supposed to get shot out.

His car wasn't supposed to be blindsided.

He wasn't supposed to end up on life support, barely clinging to the edge of life.

It was a miracle that he hadn't ended up in prison, James tells himself. It was a greater miracle that he was alive today.

Now, the fact that James was driving to Roman's apartment was the greatest surprise at all. Most people wouldn't go crawling back into the line of work that had left them in the hospital for over a year.

But here he was, pulling into one of the spare parking spaces at the back of the building, and taking a long moment to just sit there and think for a long moment over what he was about to do. Once in a while he'd let his hands tighten around his steering wheel. James even considers resting his head against it at one point, but chooses not to.

Why was he doing this to himself?

James parks the car, removing the keys from the ignition and stepping out of the car, careful to lock the door behind him as he begins walking towards the apartment to see his associates for the first time in over a year.

He had medical bills to pay, after all. A lot of them.

He finds the elevator, electing to take it up to the third floor where Roman's apartment was instead of taking the stairs. Walking didn't always feel natural quite yet.

On the way up, James finds himself fidgeting with his clothing, a lot. Pulling the glove on tight that covered his metallic hand, pulling down the sleeve of his coat and the sweater underneath it, making sure that the collar of his shirt was high enough that nobody would be able to see what lay underneath. Eventually he gives up. James closes his eyes, trying to block out his worries as he braces himself for what was about to come.

A big part of him tells him they probably already knew.

An even bigger part of him seriously hopes that they didn't.

There'd been a lot of changes.

They were going to ask him why he was back.

Medical bills, James reminds himself. He had medical bills to pay.

The sound of a dinging echoes in James' ears. _Ding_. _Ding_.

The elevator lurches to a stop, and for a long moment, James hesitates, hearing the final dinging sound before stepping out of the elevator and starting down the hallway to room 311 where he knew Roman would be waiting, along with everyone else. It's not a long walk, but when James reaches the door, he hesitates there for what feels like an eternity. After taking a minute to steel himself, James raises a hand to knock on the door. Left hand, not that he ever would have done that before.

Before his hand even touches the door, it opens. James looks up. Sees a pair of impossibly gentle black eyes.

Hei Xiong.

Everyone called him Junior, especially when they were on a job. James didn't know why, but it just was how things were. Something in the back of James' mind screamed that it was entirely likely that nobody knew why.

"James." Junior greets him, and James simply nods to him before entering the apartment, nearly silent. He does his best not to betray his feelings, simply going to the living room where he knew everyone would be waiting, with a number of drinks going around.

Roman's couches were full of people, all familiar faces. As he passes by the kitchen, James takes note of things that had changed. Drawings done by young children decorated the walls, and for a moment, James feels a flit of fear fly through his chest.

Penny had nearly lost a father on his last job.

Roman's girl was at risk, Neo, James thought her name was. Junior's girls were at risk too. He couldn't remember their names, but as far as he remembered, they were twins with hair as black as their father's.

The absolute last thing he wanted to see was them lose their fathers.

He makes it into the living room, just a bit behind Junior, who immediately took his seat next to Roman on a loveseat. Roman seemed distracted, flipping between maps, notes, and photographs on an easel that James was sure he'd seen get replaced a hundred times over the course of his knowing Roman.

James moves to sit in the old recliner that he'd always taken a seat in, but stops, seeing that there was someone in the seat that he'd always taken during these meetings. His eyes met the color of rust.

Almost immediately James steps away from the recliner, walking across the room to instead seat himself on a plush burgundy colored couch between two women, one with snowy white hair and the other with hair the color of spun gold.

The white haired woman looks over at him, seemingly surprised to see him back. "General-"

"Winter." James answers, giving her a nod and raising a hand to stop her from saying too much before leaning back a bit, removing a small notepad from his breast pocket and a silvered pen, ready to scribble down notes as they came up. Winter accepts James' quiet request, simply facing forward with a notepad in her lap and mechanical pencil tucked behind her ear.

Roman turns, hearing James' voice and smiles, a wide grin creasing his face, cheshire-like at the sight of James. "General!" His voice seems light at the sight of James. James wants to shrink away from the scrutiny, and finds himself tugging down at his sleeve again.

"Hello." James simply says, hoping that he wasn't going to have to talk too much about his return to a life of crime.

"Glad to have you back, General. It's been… what, a year?" Roman seems to step forward a bit, smiling and swerving his body as he got a better look at James. The way that his orange hair sways with the motion almost looks comical, making a small smile flit across James' face for just a moment.

"Roughly." James' cobalt eyes stray up to Roman's easel, seeing a map there of Atlas city, with a number of locations circled in black market, and roads that were highlighted in red, with neatly written notes alongside them, with words that would be seemingly nonsense to anyone who was uninitiated.

Instructions, James knew. More specifically, assignments. Escape routes, points of interests, plans all handed down by some power that nobody ever seemed to be in close contact with.

They called him the Wizard while they were on the job, though from what James knew the man's name was Ozpin. Ozpin was mysterious, only appearing to the band of criminals as a voice or as a message on a scroll to Glynda. James wasn't entirely sure that Ozpin was a single person, but whoever they were, they had never mislead them before, and as a result there had never been someone killed on a job under Ozpin's instruction.

They'd gotten close to losing someone once, James reminds himself. Very close.

He feels his right hand clench into a fist, almost involuntarily.

James closes his eyes, realizing that the two women at his side were probably highly aware of the fact that he'd just tensed all over, and he prays that neither Winter or Glynda would say anything. He simply feels a gentle hand on his left shoulder. James opens his left eye, peeking over to see who was there. Glynda, of course. James sits upright, clicking his pen in his hand and shoots Glynda a weak smile of reassurance that he was alright and definitely not in pain or anxious to be there.

"Well, since it seems we're all here." Roman's voice breaks through the room, drawing everyone's eyes to him at the front, where he was getting up from beside Junior and half-hopping towards the easel that was there beside him. "We've gotten an assignment from the old Wizard, and we've got the General back to make it all happen." Roman looks about the room, a smile that always said mischief stretched across his face.

"It's simple this time. As usual, he hasn't said why he wants us to do this in any real detail, though we have our... speculations." A tinge of annoyance touched Roman's voice at this, but James didn't question it. Nobody would, they all knew how things were. Ozpin was mysterious, but Ozpin was brilliant when it came to organizing heists. Usually there seemed to be a good reason.

"So nobody questions it?" The raspy voice comes from the direction of the chair where James would normally sit, and everyone in the room seems to zero in on the man sitting there immediately. He was obviously new, James noted, but he would have had to have been brand new if he was asking such a thing.

Roman simply laughs. "We've all given up on asking at this point, birdy." Roman's voice sounds. "Ozpin's not really one for answering questions, they just pick the men, then picks the targets. Our job," Roman pauses a long moment. If he had a cigar in his hand, Roman probably would have twirled it, James thinks. "Is to make sure that the jobs get carried out and ensure that everyone goes home with a pretty penny in their pocket."

Roman reaches out with a permanent marker in his hand and taps on a green circled building on the map with the cap. James had seen that particular building on nearly every map and plan that had been brought before their little group. It was an old warehouse, with a decently large parking garage nearby, conveniently located near a bus stop so that nobody risked getting found out.

"This," Roman begins. "Will be our base of operations and where we'll be meeting before and after we hit the target. No personal vehicles, but I shouldn't have to say that. Surely we're not all amateurs by now."

The couch that James was sitting on shifts to his left as Glynda stands up, a sleek black tablet in her arms. "Ozpin wants this to go as smoothly as possible. Not like..." Her vibrant green eyes slide over to James, leaving James wanting to shrink away under the scrutiny. Glynda and James's eyes meet for a moment before Glynda looks away. "Last time."

Roman leans against the armrest of the loveseat where Junior was still sitting, not seeming to mind that Glynda was taking the spotlight away from him for the moment. She was the one who did all the communications with Ozpin, not him. Roman was simply a natural showman, much more than Glynda was. He smiles widely, his hat slumping a bit atop his vivid red hair. "You must know about our target, Glynda. Wanna share with the class?"

Glynda seems to glare at Roman before straightening back up, looking like a straight-laced headmistress instead of a criminal. "Ozpin has taken a particular interest in a particular oil company, which has stations and locations across the city. Roman, if you would?"

On cue, Roman reaches out with the marker, tapping on a string of four black circles that were on the map. James scribbles this down on his notepad, since it surely meant that they would be striking all four of the locations, either all in one night or at the same time. He looks back up, to see Roman taping up photographs on the wall next to the easel, all of nearly identical gas stations.

"Ozpin has been interested in disrupting G.U. Industries, as they have recently become involved in what appears to be insider trading, questionable business practices, and have recently made a supply deal with the military involving their oil." Glynda keeps her tone highly controlled as she goes over the speculated reasons for Ozpin requesting this particular attack.

"What he wants for us to do," Glynda closes her eyes for a moment, bringing a hand up so that she could adjust her glasses and flick away her gold hair. "Is to render these stations unusable. No loss of life, no hostages, but he does want us to ensure that these stations are out of business."

Roman flips the page on his easel, showing a page that had a list of names written on it, all of which corresponded to the names of the people in the room. "Codenames are generally the same. Junior, you're Junior, Glynda, you'll be the White Witch as usual, Winter, Blizzard. Qrow, you'll be Birdy until we think of something better. I'll be Mascara as usual, and James-"

Everyone seems to look at him now, painfully aware of his return to the criminal fold. James sits a bit upright, closing his notepad with his pen inside of it, in a show of false confidence. The room is mostly silent, aside from the sound of Roman opening the cap of the marker in his hand then immediately snapping it shut with a quiet pop.

"We're all glad to have the General back."

"I'm glad to be back." The words feel poisonous, like they'd been trapped in James' throat, or they were blatant lies. It wasn't a complete lie, not really. But the fact that he was returning to a life that had almost resulted in his death was there, lingering in the back of James' mind.

Only a madman would throw himself into this sort of position twice.

Well, that's what James would have told himself a year ago, and yet here he was. He looks down at his hands, finding himself clenching his right hand into a fist with very little thought to him making the action. His brow furrows, before James looks between Glynda and Roman, head on now. "What do you need me to do?"

Roman and Glynda seem to exchange a look and a silent conversation, but after a moment, Glynda spoke first. "Since it'll be your first job since the... incident, Ozpin thought it would be prudent that you take your position in helping Winter and Qrow in scouting out the locations before the job itself. Come the day of our heist, we will likely have you drive." Glynda's eyes seem to soften for a moment as James simply nods his agreement.

Not even a minute later, Roman had taken charge again, handing out preliminary assignments to everyone in the room, though most of them were all simple tasks. Looking into their targets, understanding the security situation in each one. Routine scouting.

It's a process that takes several minutes, and by the time it was done, Junior had a slip of paper circulating around the room to take sandwich orders, part of an old tradition of theirs. Meetings were always followed by a meal.

The real grit of their meeting worked through, it was the time where everyone took a minute for their own social interactions. James doesn't move from the couch, feeling a bit of pain flaring up through his arm and down into his leg.

He struggles to make himself comfortable, taking the opportunity once Winter and Glynda were both up and about to shift his position on the couch to try and find one that was a bit more supportive. James sighs lowly, reminding himself that he had painkillers in the car, not that he wanted to drive when he was using them.

"You going to be alright?" A voice makes James open up his eyes, accompanied by the sound of glass being set down against a glass coffee table. Turning his eyes up, James sees Junior there with two glasses of scotch on ice resting on the table in front of the couch. James sits up a bit, fighting through the pain and reaches out, taking one of the two glasses.

"I'll be alright." James answers after a long moment. "Just some pain."; He swirls the glass in his hand a bit, watching as the amber liquid inside rippled and created a tiny whirlpool. "Thank you." James looks up, his eyes meeting Junior's as a smile stretched across his face.

Junior nods, raising his glass to James in a quiet toast. "Well, you're alive. That's more than anyone ever expected."

James' hand tightens slightly around the cold glass in his left hand. "I'm glad for that." James mumbles the words, staring down at his two hands. Right resting on his knee, left holding the scotch. "There have just been a lot of changes."

Junior seems to hesitate a long moment, raising his glass to his lips before taking a sip of the scotch. His black eyes seem to travel around the apartment, falling on the drawings on the walls. "Yeah." Junior almost whispers the word. "Things have changed for me too."

James doesn't look up at the pictures on the walls. He doesn't feel its his place to question it too deeply. It was Junior and Roman's business, not his. He was sure that if they met at his house, nobody would question how his apartment was decorated. "I can imagine."

There's a knock at the door, and soon everyone's off getting their sandwiches and enjoying them, most conversing over things that weren't of great consequence. Sports, politics, how their children were doing. Junior takes his glass and goes off to get the food, and James is left along on the couch again.

After sitting there for a minute or two James stands, emptied glass in his hand and walks into the kitchen, where the new guy with the rust colored eyes- Qrow, he reminds himself, was leaning against a counter, half-slouched over, a half-empty bottle of whiskey in his hand. Qrow looks James up and down, as though he were looking for something, brow raised. "So you're the guy I replaced, huh?"

James sets the empty glass down next to the sink, confusion reading clear on his face. "Pardon?"

Qrow sets the bottle down beside him, leaning towards James a bit in a hunch and squinting up at him. "They brought me in to fill in a gap which I'm guessing-" Qrow leans back against the counter, his black hair flopping into his eyes as he brought the bottle up, drinking directly from it. "Was left by you."

James steps back, blue eyes narrowing. What was this guy's problem? "I've been away, yes." His jaw clenches, his voice tight as he gets the response out. "But that's none of your business."

"They want me to drive around with you." Qrow sounds like he's taunting James, voice gravelly. James wonders for a moment if that was a result of overdrinking or just Qrow's natural voice. "I'd rather not, but I don't think I get much of a choice in the matter.

James straightens up in a manner that he'd done nearly a hundred times when he was still in the military. "We'll be going out to view the routes after you and Winter are done eating." James sounds like a commander, voice hard and expression harder. Like tempered steel. James doesn't notice that Qrow seems to take a half-step back, intimidated. He doesn't notice how Qrow's breath seemed to hitch in his throat either.

"...Right. Scouting with you and princess. Got it." Qrow seems resigned, and James nods, still standing tall.

"My car's down in the lot." James says the words, forceful. "We'll be leaving in twenty. I recommend you be ready to take notes. The last thing you want on a job is getting left behind."

There's a pause as James thinks, sighs. "Take my word for it."


	2. Ridealong

James is the first to his car in the parking lot, to some small relief. He doesn't get in immediately, instead taking a moment while he's outside to kick the tires of the sedan while he waited for Qrow and Winter to come down. The tires were hard, firm, proper. He'd gotten them changed a week ago. He always got them changed before and after a job. It helped to keep him and his cargo safe, and made it harder for him to be tracked down.

James tried to pretend that the accident didn't have anything to do with this new ritual of his, but he knew the truth.

The sound of the back door to Roman's apartment building opening with a creak makes James look up, seeing Winter striding towards him with a wave. James returns the gesture, taking two steps to get to the driver's door of his car, reaching into his pocket so that he could find his keys. Finding them, he laces a finger through the keyring that separated his house and car key, as well as the electric fob from each other.

A high-pitched chirping sound and a low thump signal to Winter and James that the door was unlocked. James gets in first, immediately leaning over and reaching across the car to remove a small photo of Penny that he liked to rest on his dashboard. He frowns a little as he tucks the photo of Penny, in a soft green dress with her soft orange curls wild into his glovebox as Winter slid into the seat beside him.

"Seatbelt." The word leaves James' mouth before he can even think to stop himself out of sheer force of habit from driving Penny around with him. Winter rolls her eyes, but listens, and after hearing the click of a seatbelt into place, he's able to relax a little. He closes the glovebox with one motion, it snapping shut, before returning his hand to the steering wheel.

It's silent for a moment. Winter looks out the window, uncomfortable before looking over at James and trying to cut through the impossibly great distance that his absence had left. "I'm glad to have you back." James looks over to Winter, smiling gently at the young woman in an effort to offer her some small comfort as he waited for Qrow to arrive. He had a feeling that it might be a bit of time before the other arrived.

Winter's voice seems to crack with her next words."It's been... hard."

James feels his heart clench and ache in his chest. Somehow it outweighs all of his other worries and pains.

Winter Schnee had come into his life through Ozpin, a teenager that was on bad terms with her family and needed a good way to help take care of herself. James had given her his guest room for a while, and in exchange, Winter would help take care of Penny while he was away. In a lot of ways, she was like a daughter to him.

He wasn't sure that he even wanted to know the extent of what had been happening to her when he was gone.

"I'm sorry, Winter." James' voice is low, and he looks over at her directly now, relaxing a bit in his seat. "I didn't know that would happen. Were you able to take care of yourself while I was...?"

Winter nods, expression hardening with her resolve. "I managed to get an apartment to myself and a friend." She looks up at him, seeming as confident as ever. "And I'd try to check in on Penny when I could. Working for the old Wizard's done more than enough to pay our bills, and I've even learned to cook."

James smiles, relaxing a bit in his seat as he slid his phone into the cupholder beside him and just listening to what Winter had to tell him. Once she was finished, James feels himself chuckle. "It sounds like you've been doing very well for yourself." He pauses, "Though I am curious how you've been able to see Penny."

"She and Weiss are in the same class this year." Winter answers plainly enough. "So I've been able to chaperone field trips and see her then. She seemed sad, James. Scared."

James sighs, raising a hand to try and push a loose lock of hair back out of his face as he was overwhelmed with sadness. He couldn't be there for Penny. His brow furrows, his entire body tensing. He shakes his head, brings his hand down. Looks back to Winter. "Winter, I am truly eternally grateful. She loves you a lot and... well, I couldn't be there for her when she needed me. Thank you."

Winter's eyes soften for a moment, and she reaches over, gently placing a hand on his shoulder to try and comfort him. "It's not your fault." After a moment, James feels himself relax slightly, only to sit upright, back ramrod straight. His eyes travel over to the apartment door and he finds himself drumming his fingers, now annoyed with the fact that he and Winter were still waiting on Qrow to arrive.

Winter follows James' line of sight over to the door to the apartment building, displeasure reading clear on her face as she stared at the door that didn't seem to have any sign of opening anytime soon. "I don't know what Ozpin sees in that guy." Winter's hands clench in her lap. "How can he be so... late?"

James sighs, watching the door as well. "I don't see what Ozpin sees either. It Seems like he drinks too much."

"That's one way to put it." Winter crosses her arms, sitting back in the seat and crossing one leg over the other. "We've done two jobs with him and he's just..."

The door opens with a creak, and Qrow half-falls out, walking with a slight wobble and looking like he may have just been pushed out of the building by a pair of large hands. James doesn't even need to look over to know that Winter's frown had increased and that her eyes had narrowed, a sigh leaving her lips purely from frustration.

Squinting, Qrow looks around the parking lot, completely unsure as to which vehicle he was supposed to be going to. For a moment, James realized that he didn't specify which car was his to the man, but he simply watches the man for a moment. Seeing Qrow start in the wrong direction, James taps on the horn of his car to alert Qrow to where he was supposed to go with a loud honk. Qrow jolts a bit, clearly caught off guard. His red eyes fall on the simple silver sedan, where he saw James and Winter in the two front seats.

The red-eyed man walks towards them, shoving his hands deeply into his pockets and hunching over. James doubts for a moment that he would be ready to go on the little scouting mission that they'd been assigned to. It was simple work, but it was also one of the most important things that someone could do when their job involved actively avoiding police and even death.

Qrow reaches the car, and tries to open the passenger's door, only for Winter to slam her hand down on the lock, effectively locking him from trying to take her place in the car. Qrow rolls his eyes, a bit of a sneer across his face before getting in through the back seat and sliding into the middle. "I can't believe I have to do this with you two." The rookie's voice comes out as a growl, though whether there was anger affecting it wasn't immediately clear. James does his best to ignore it, putting his keys in the ignition, turning them, and smiling approvingly when he feels the engine turn over. "Why do we even have to do this-"

Qrow doesn't get to finish as Winter snarls at him. "Hold your tongue." The girl's fists clench in her lap and she even turns a bit to face him and show her frustrations.

James turns, putting one arm over the back of Winter's seat and keeping an eye on his surroundings so that he could get the car out of the parking lot safely. It was new, after all- a gift from Ozpin, sent as an apology for things that no amount of apologies could truly fix. It was empty, but it was something. And James wasn't about to turn down having a new car after their last job went so poorly, and he certainly wasn't about to scratch it up in a parking lot.

Besides, nobody was going to notice a two year old sedan with nothing conspicuously wrong about it.

"Always so touchy." Qrow leans back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest in a single motion that screamed bitterness. "I never did anything to you, ice queen."

A low sigh manages to slip out of James' lips as he resigned himself to the fact that it seemed unlikely that Winter was going to take that well at all. He wonders for a moment whether he'd be able to just ignore Qrow and Winter's bickering and just drive, but he had the feeling that wasn't going to be any sort of real option to him.

"You know exactly what you did." Winter sneers at Qrow, her hands balled into fists in her lap. "You're constantly disrespecting every-"

"Winter." James' tone is a warning for both of them to stop. He didn't want to have to deal with any fighting on this little mission as they drive up to the sign that separated the parking lot from Candle Street. He waits a minute, letting a dark green minivan pass before he turns the car onto the main road, beginning his drive towards the first gas station that he, Winter, and Qrow were supposed to look at. In the end, Roman and Glynda had only given the trio two stations to look at, since it was unlikely that he'd be at every gas station the day of the job.

"Winter, could you-" James uses his right hand to reach into his breast pocket, removing his notebook and passing it over to Winter. Winter takes it graciously and opens James' glovebox, finding his gps and begins putting in the address for the first of the stations that they were going to. "Thank you."

Qrow laughs from the back seat, breath stinking of whiskey. "Some criminal you are, don't even know where you're supposed to be going." He leans foward between James and Winter's seats, as though he were looking to do nothing more than taunt the two of them constantly and without any true sort of consequence. "Is that why you needed to be replaced?"

James grips the steering wheel tighter, and for a moment he realizes that he can feel the metal and plastic wheel bend some under the pressure of his right hand. He almost jolts,, that was certainly new but decides to just take his hand off of the wheel instead, acting like he were getting some gum from a small compartment under the radio next to him. It looked better than him crunching the wheel, especially when he wasn't sure about how much Winter and Qrow knew. Though James fully expected for Winter to find out about the metal parts that held him together at some point, he didn't want Qrow knowing any more than he had to.

The man wasn't privy to such information.

James pulls to a stop sign, doing his best to ignore Qrow as Winter sets the gps up on the dashboard in a place where he'd be able to see if he needed to look. He hears the sound of Winter closing his notebook in one motion, paper rustling against paper.

"If you were a good replacement, they wouldn't have had to ask for me back. The reasons I've been away are frankly none of your business, Qrow." James keeps his voice hard. Winter looks over at him, then back to see Qrow there in the back seat, and leaning a bit too close to her for comfort. Winter seems to prepare to reach back and push Qrow away from her, but James just shoots her a look. Winter stops, crossing her arms over her chest.

Qrow slumps back against the seat, looking out the windows as the three of them drove. "Why are you even back anyways? everyone said you were-"

"Qrow." Winter hisses the word.

James frowns, focused on the road more than he was Qrow's babbling. "The reasons I've returned are entirely my own and they aren't for you to know."

"You're the same as her and Glynda then." Qrow sneers. "Constantly have a stick up your-"

"Enough." James raises his voice, trying to ensure that Qrow got the message, though it felt largely like he was talking to a brick wall. Specifically, a brick wall that was stuck in its teenage years. "That is not only wildly inappropriate, but I have absolutely no qualms about leaving you on the side of the road to get picked up for a drunk and disorderly."

Qrow's eyebrow raises in some interest, almost as though he were completely taken off guard by what James had just said, mouth dropping open a little.

James' eyes meet Qrow's in the reflection of the rear view mirror, and James almost feels a smirk ready to show on his expressions. It seemed that had shut Qrow up. His eyes go back onto the road, looking forward as he made a left turn under the instruction of his GPS. "I thought so."

Winter looks between James and Qrow, her grey-blue eyes sliding over both of them before she sits a bit more upright, reaching up to let her hair down out of the bun that she usually wore. It was a rare sign of relaxation from Winter, but it was also halfway a ritual for her when they were working, from what James had noticed.

He suspected that she picked up the wearing a bun habit from spending so much time around Glynda, but James never commented on it, how Winter wore her hair wasn't his business.

The first gas station slides into view, and James lets his eyes travel around, looking for a good parking spot near the gas station, deciding to use a spot in the plaza next to the gas station, choosing a space in front of a dollar store in the parking spot nearest the row of boulders that separated the two parking lots.

He pulls in and parks the car, opening the door and looking over at Winter. "I want you to go in, look for cameras. If they seem like they're keeping an eye on you, make a point to pick things up conspicuously and make a purchase." James shifts slightly in his seat, reaching into his back pocket and getting his wallet, which he quickly flipped open to remove a twenty dollar bill. He folds it in half and passes it to Winter. "Advil, if they have it. And get something for yourself if you want to."

Winter takes the bill, gets her wallet out of the small purse that she'd set down by her feet when she got into James' car, already heading towards the gas station so that it would look like she'd come alone. Qrow watches her leave for just a moment before looking back at James.

James directs his attention to Qrow now. "I want you to go in and double up, but also keep an eye on what the parking lot looks like and whether there are security cameras there. Photos if you can get them." James shuts the car door, and Qrow gets out of the vehicle. "Any questions?"

"Yeah." Qrow's voice is as gravelly as ever, and for a moment, it makes James feel his skin crawl. "What the hell are you going to be doing?"

James controls his face, his tone. Answers. "I'll be looking at the area around the station. Vantage points and getaway roads. When I'm done, I'll pull into the gas station and fill up, that'll be your queue to leave the store and get in so that we can leave."

Qrow rolls his eyes. "Awful lot of nonsense for looking at a gas station of all things."

"It's necessary." James keeps his voice hard as he locks the car door with a chirp from his key fob. "Once you've been in this business for a while, maybe you'll start to understand that."

"Says the guy who got himself blown up." Qrow's words bit, but before James can say a word, he's already on his way to the gas station, half-hunched over as he walked, leaving James to investigate the area on his own, seeking out good places where they could put getaway vehicles and extra coverage so that they knew that the robberies would be safe. He doesn't photograph the area, just using his own memory to keep track of everything. He'd done this enough times that he could keep track of things easily enough.

It's a process, but James gets a good idea of everything he needed to see and know in just a few minutes, but reminds himself to go back in on another day, probably at night when they were likely to make their heist. He was sure he'd be able make it happen on a night when he wasn't causing problems for anyone else, most importantly Penny. James is vigilant in his work, but once in a while he finds himself letting his eyes wander over to Qrow, who was seemingly pretending to text in front of a display for charcoal.

For a moment, James felt some jealousy sprout up in the core of his chest, but he tries to suppress the feeling. There was a large part of James that was hurting, mostly as a result of the fact that he'd been replaced while he'd been in the hospital. He didn't know whether Ozpin, as mysterious as they were, had even hesitated for a second before finding a replacement. That was probably what hurt the most, James realized.

And what a replacement Qrow was, James thought. Qrow hadn't done much as far as putting his best foot forward went, and it made James seriously wonder whether the man had even made an effort at trying to mesh with anyone, let alone him and Winter. Winter had said that they'd done jobs with this Qrow before, but James only found himself seriously questioning what those would have looked like.

Whether the man was even capable.

For some reason, James had a sinking feeling that he'd be stuck babysitting the rookie on this upcoming job. That didn't exactly make James feel great about things, but he figured that perhaps he'd been asked to take Qrow because he was expected to be able to keep him on leash of sorts. In the back of his mind, James stores away a note telling him to call Roman or Glynda and see what he can learn about Qrow. Maybe they'd have some information that would make the man slightly less infuriating.

James watches as Qrow steps back from the charcoal display. He looked down at the watch that he had on his left wrist and takes note of the time. It was time for them to go. He gets into the car, noting the fire ladder leading to the rooftop of the plaza before driving over to the gas pumps at the gas station. He parks at one of the pumps and heads inside, seeing that Winter was getting two cups of coffee, a bottle of Advil, and a small package of gummy bears. He doesn't have to even question who the coffees were for.

He queues behind her and waits, getting out his wallet and credit card so he could buy some gas before he brought Winter home and dropped Qrow off back at Roman's apartment- he presumed that the man had a way home. Winter leaves the store first, coffees paid for and climbs into the passenger's seat. James quickly purchases the gas before going back out to the car and beginning to pump the gas. Qrow saunters over to the car, sliding into the back seat, and seems to throw the girl an obscene gesture as he slides into place.

James takes his time, filling the car as he overheard Qrow and Winter bickering in the vehicle, and for a moment he thought that he heard something about selfies and poor tactics. James shakes it off, placing the fuel pump back on its hanger before getting in and turning the key, the engine turning over with a rumbling sound.

"Do you need me to drop you off, Winter?" James reaches over with his right hand, taking the cup of coffee that Winter had gotten him and the bottle of Advil. He sets the coffee down between his legs as he opens up the bottle of Advil, taking two tablets of the medicine after reading the back label for just a moment. "I don't mind."

"If you could, I wouldn't mind." She looks over at the cup of coffee that James was now raising to his lips to wash down the medication. "I got you hazelnut, black. That's what you like, ri-"

"It's perfect, Winter." James smiles over at the girl as he lowers the coffee, feeling its warmth stretch through his bones and relaxing away the day's hurts and pains. He almost forgets for a moment that Qrow was still in the back seat. "You'll just need to make sure I don't get lost on the way."

Qrow looks between them from the back seat. "What about me?"

"I'll be dropping you off at Roman's apartment after."

"Oh." Qrow makes himself comfortable in the back seat, and James can feel the weight of the man's read eyes burning into the back of his neck. "So are we going to look at this second station or was this all a waste of time?"

"We could do it today." James answers, driving onto the . "But it's better that we do this one at a time. Daytime surveillance is good, but we need to come back at night to get a better idea of what we're dealing with. And if we do it all at once details get confused."

Winter looks up at James, watching as the man had a sip from the hazelnut coffee. "When do you want to do that?"

James lets his eyes flick over to Winter's. "I have a new phone in my glovebox, put your number in and I'll let you know when its time."

Winter rolls her eyes, opening up the glovebox and finding what looked like a seriously dated flip phone. She reaches into her purse, pulling out an antiquated looking cell phone of her own and beginning to add contact information from hers into James'. "Do you have any idea when it'll be?"

"Sometime during the week. Let me know when you have classes and I can plan around them." James reaches over to take the phone once he was sure that Winter was done with it. He sends her a quick message that said nothing but "test" and hears her phone buzz. Satisfied, James tosses the phone into the back seat with Qrow. "If you have a burner phone add your contact information and I'll call you when we're doing this again."

"Pushy." Qrow rolls his eyes, flipping open the phone and looking at it as he tried to get to the contact list. It was just a list of the codenames that Roman had rattled off in the meeting room nearly an hour before. Apparently, this was a trend he would have to get used to. He goes to the add contact button and begins preparing to add his information.

There's a moment's silence.

"...Please tell me you have a burner number." James mutters the words from his seat, one hand gripping the steering wheel tight as he drove around the back of the gas station, using it as a chance to see what the back of the building looks like. "The last thing I need is some rookie jeopardizing everything because they don't have a separate phone."

Qrow seems a bit taken aback by this, reaching into his pocket and producing a second phone which he holds up so that James could see it in the rear view mirror. "Duh." He flips it open, getting the contact information that he'd never need to know and enters James' number into a new message and just sending the other man's phone a message with his name in it and nothing else. James reaches back to take his phone back and for just a moment, his gloved hand and Qrow's meet, but James quickly pulls away, pocketing the phone and concentrating on the rest of the drive instead of the man in the backseat, or the girl beside him that sipped occasionally from her coffee.

To James' relief, most of the bickering seems to stop, with Winter guiding him to her new apartment for the first time. It takes a couple of minutes to get there, but soon enough James is slowly pulling up in front of Winter's apartment.

He takes a parking spot and waits as Winter gets out, watching the girl carefully as she went inside, not pulling back out until he was sure that she was inside safe and sound. James doesn't even notice the presence of Qrow sliding into the passenger's seat beside him from the back, or that the other man was instantly making himself comfortable, adjusting the seat to his own likings.

James makes a mental note to go back and set it back to Penny's preferred settings when he got home that night.

Satisfied that Winter was inside and safe, James takes a U-turn, beginning the drive back to Roman's apartment so that he could drop Qrow off and hopefully not have to deal with the other man for the rest of the night. He didn't feel like he had the patience for it, and he'd have to look over maps of the area around those two gas stations that night anyways.

Some extra research into Ozpin's intentions likely wouldn't hurt either.

"You sure I don't get a ride home too?" Qrow laughs the words out as he looks out the window, trying to avoid talking to the older-looking man too much. The surveillance trip had been awkward enough with Winter there, now that it was just Qrow and James, the tension seemed to multiply.

It didn't exactly take a genius to figure out that James wasn't happy about having been replaced, or that Qrow was unhappy about having the person that he'd been brought in to replace back on the scene.

"I figured you'd have a way home." James answers as he drums his fingers against the steering wheel on the drive back to Roman's apartment. "Is that incorrect?"

"I mean..." Qrow sighs, looking back over at James for a moment. "It's kind of the right, kind of not. My brother-in-law drove me into town, he said I could call him if I needed a ride home, I just don't like doing it." Qrow almost seemed reluctant to talk about it, but James decided not to pry. It wasn't his business, and it probably never would be.

James raises an eyebrow, looking over at Qrow and then sighs. "Call him for a ride home." He keeps his voice restrained. "I can leave you at a burger place or Roman's if you need me to."

Qrow reaches into his pocket, sending out a series of texts as James simply pulled over in front of a small deli and parked, waiting for a verdict on where he was supposed to leave Qrow for the night. After a minute or two of Qrow's texting, the red eyed man finally spoke up.

"He said he can meet me here," Qrow seems to move around a bit in his seat in a manner that suggested to James that the man was checking that his shoes were still tied. "I guess I'll be seeing you around Jimmy."

"It's James."

"Of course it is." Qrow laughs as he pushes the car door open, hopping out of the vehicle and closing the door immediately. James uses the small button control to roll down the window so that he could finish saying things to Qrow. "So should I call you or-"

"What?"

"For our next little trip out with Ice Queen."

"Her name is Winter." James' jaw clenches a bit with the words. "And I'll call you when it's time. I can even give you a day's notice if you need me to."

"Will you now?"

James pauses, his eyes meeting Qrow's directly for the first time. "Have I given you any reason to doubt me?"

"Nah." Qrow says the word, stretching a bit as he stood outside the car and closed the passenger's door behind him. "But you don't exactly inspire confidence."

James looks ahead at the deli for a moment, sighing, and Qrow looks up at the building, examining it, almost as though he were trying to pass the time. He speaks. "Either way," James mutters the words, catching Qrow's attention "I will call you."

"Yeah," a low chuckle. "I'm sure you will, Jimmy.:

"It's James."

"Yeah, sure." Qrow laughs the words, stepping away from the car and raising a hand in a nonchalant half-wave. "See you around, Jimmy."

As the man walks towards a bench outside of the deli, James almost considers offering Qrow a ride home, but decides against it when he sees that Qrow was getting a phone out to call someone, presumably the aforementioned brother-in-law. Feeling a bit better about leaving him there, James drives home to spend the rest of the night to himself.

Research, dinner, and bed sounded absolutely lovely after such a long day.


	3. Collateral

Morning hit Qrow like a freight train, the light making his head feel like it was going to split, eyes aching from a mix of dryness and the aforementioned light, and every sound grated on Qrow's nerves, like he was being dragged along train tracks.

He blinks, trying to piece together his memory of the night before after. After getting home, he didn't remember a whole lot about what had happened aside from him dipping into the liquor cabinet once he and Taiyang had made it home. He might have gotten sick, but he wasn't able to pin down whether that was true or not.

With a groan, Qrow snuggled into the warm blanket that he had on the couch that he'd been staying on for the last couple of weeks, doing his best to block out the sun from reaching his eyes, and for just a moment, he's glad that he doesn't have to get up or hear the blaring sound of an alarm clock in his ear. For once, he had a feeling that he could actually enjoy his Saturday morning.

Unfortunately for Qrow, in the Xiao Long-Rose household, there was no need for alarm clocks. The sound of two pairs of feet rushing down the hardwood hallway, followed by the sound of claws scratching against wood waken Qrow up further, leaving him feeling like his head was going to split at any moment. Qrow rolls, pulling his pillow over his head to try and block out the sounds.

"Yang, c'mon!" A high-pitched voice shrieks, accompanied by the quiet yipping sound of the family's corgi, Zwei. "Dad said he'd take us to the park if we were good so we have to make him and mom breakfast!"

"Ruby, you're going to wake up Uncle Qrow!" Yang follows her younger sister into the kitchen, and from his couch Qrow can hear the sound of the girl dragging a chair so that she could get up to the counter. Qrow swears quietly, sitting up on the couch and pushing his hair back and out of his face with one hand, rubbing his eyes for a moment. He sighs and stands up, heading into the kitchen where his two nieces were rifling through cupboards looking for something.

Yang and Ruby both go pale at the sight of Qrow, realizing that they'd woken him up by accident. Qrow mostly ignores it, groggily searching the cupboard for an empty glass before putting it under the sink, running the water so that he could try and sober up. He removes the glass, setting it down beside him so that he could splash his face with the cool water before turning off the faucet and sipping from the glass. He looks between Ruby and Yang, fighting through the headache. "Good morning girls."

There's a pause, but the second that Ruby realized that there was an absence of anger in Qrow's voice she leaps forward, arms outstretched. "Good morning Uncle Qrow!" Ruby attaches herself around Qrow's waist, earning an affectionate pat on the top of her head. Ruby beams at the contact, beyond enthralled with her uncle. Yang soon joins the hug, squeezing Qrow a bit harder than she needed to.

Qrow returns the hug before disconnecting himself from his two nieces to look between them. He raises a brow as his eyes fall on the chair that Yang had dragged towards the counter so that they could climb up and use the various appliances there. "What exactly are you two up to?"

"We're trying to make mom and dad breakfast." Ruby answers, almost bouncing as she speaks, silver eyes bright and wide, though a bit obscured by her messy dark red hair. "Dad said he'd bring us to the park if we were good so we-"

"Wanted to bribe Taiyang." Qrow laughs, cutting the younger sister off, lifting the chair gently and putting it back at the table where it belonged. "I'll help you two out, but only so that you don't end up burning down the house, got it?"

"Really Uncle Qrow?" Yang speaks up now, grinning widely as she looked up at him with a wide smile, tilting back on her heels in excitement. "We woke you up."

"If you two are at the park, I get you out of my hair for a day." Qrow reaches up to the cupboard, looking for something that wouldn't be too much of a mess to clean up if he gave the girls the reins for most of the cooking that morning. Qrow finds a box of pancake mix and a package of chocolate chips, pulls them down, and holds them out to the girls for approval. Ruby bounces and squeals excitedly, Yang throws him a thumbs up, and Qrow decides that it was a good choice.

Qrow's comment registers, and Yang looks up at her uncle and frowns a little. "Uncle Qrow, we didn't even get to see you yesterday." The blonde goes to the fridge, opening it up to look for the ingredients she'd seen her father use to make pancakes in the past, namely a jug of milk and a carton of eggs. She walks over to the counter where Qrow was already finding large bowls and a pair of skillets so that they could make the breakfast together.  
Yang steps up on the tips of her toes, sliding the ingredients onto the counter beside Qrow. "Can we get chairs so we can help?"

Qrow looks down to see Yang there at his side, admittedly a bit short to mix ingredients at the counter. He scratches at his chin for a moment, thinking, eyes widening with realization. "Didn't your dad get you stools so that you could reach the counter?" Qrow looks between the girls, expecting a quick answer from them.

Ruby seems to look away for a long moment, thinking about whether she knew where the stools were or not. The way that her face seemed to screw up as she thought made Qrow smile. "Uh... I think they're in the laundry room maybe?"

Qrow picks a whisk out of the bowl, waiting for the girl to go, but doesn't say anything until he sees that she was about to ask him something. He meets Ruby's eyes and smiles at her, waving her away. "Well, go get them, Ruby." He reaches for the pantry, looking for the cooking spray so that he could guarantee that the pancakes didn't come out as a mess. "And don't wake your parents while you do that."

"Alright!" Ruby cries out, turning on her heel before running towards the laundry room with Zwei at her heels.

With Ruby off to get the footstools, Qrow looks down at Yang, thinks for a moment, then nods towards the hallway that led to Taiyang and Summer's room. "Do you think we should make them bacon?" Qrow picks up his glass of water again, having a sip from it as he watches his niece think about the question. Just as he's lowering the glass of water from his mouth, Yang was answering.

"Yeah, probably." Yang answers, looking down the hallway herself for a second before her lilac eyes flashed back to Qrow. "Dad likes bacon, and if we want to go to the park we should give him bacon." The blonde girl hesitates, reaching up and carding her fingers through her pigtails before looking back up at her uncle. "Hey, Uncle Qrow? Why were you gone yesterday?"

"New job." Qrow answers, leaning against the counter in front of the sink and crossing his arms over his chest. "I had to meet with my new partner."

"What kind of job is it this time?" Yang's eyes seem to widen in deep interest. "Is there some sort of crazy adventure this time? Is your partner cool?"

"This time?" Qrow laughs, trying to think of a good version of the truth that he could share with the girls, reaching up and scratching his shoulder as he thought about it. The good thing about having two nieces was that Qrow could tell them nearly anything about his job and they would believe him, and if they told Summer or Taiyang, it wasn't likely they would be taken seriously. "I think we're supposed to be doing security for a guy. Like the secret service."

"You're going to protect the president?" Yang's voice is twinged with disbelief.

"Sure I am. And I'll be the best security guy he's ever seen." Qrow sets his glass of water down as Ruby came rushing back into the kitchen, with the two stacked footstools held over her head. "My partner though? Total jerk, I don't think he likes me."

"Why wouldn't he like you?" Ruby sets down the two footstools with a quiet thud and hops up on the one that was closest to Qrow. "You're the coolest uncle ever!"

Qrow looked between Ruby and Yang, looking for a good answer, but was unable to find a way to explain James' dislike of him without making himself look bad in the process. He couldn't let the girls think less of him, that was the absolute last thing he wanted. "I think he just doesn't know how awesome I can be yet." Qrow answers, voice tight as he pushes the bowl towards the two girls so that they could start mixing the dry ingredients for the pancakes.

"That's impossible." Ruby squeaks, smiling as she reached for the box of pancake mix, trying to tear it open. "Everyone sees how cool you are." The box opened on her second try, leaving Ruby to frown at the plastic bag inside. Yang reaches over and takes the bag, opening it up before turning it over and dumping the ingredients into the largest of the bowls.

Qrow smiles, leaning against the counter and coaching the girls through making pancake mix before he went to the fridge, removing a package of bacon from the crisper. "He just doesn't seem like the type to have any fun. I don't know if he'll ever like me."

"He will." Ruby laughs, a bit of pancake mix smudged on her cheek. "You trust me about that, right?"

"Yeah." Qrow chuckles, turning on the stovetop so that the two skillets he'd laid out could begin heating while he looked for some cooking spray. "I'm hoping he'll start to like me eventually." He feels the weight of Zwei leaning against his leg, surely begging for some bacon, but doesn't reach down to pat the hungry corgi. His eyes meet Zwei's large brown ones, and he simply nods in the direction of Summer and Taiyang's bedroom.

The dog's tail wags, and barely a second later the pup was scampering off to scratch at Taiyang and Summer's door and whine. Qrow sprays the two skillets, letting Yang spoon some batter into one as he set down the bacon in the other. "Let me know when the pancakes start to bubble, alright?"

"Alright Uncle Qrow!" Ruby squeals the words, and Yang grins widely, balancing forward on the tips of her toes so that she could get a good look into the skillet that was in front of her, watching for the first sight of bubbling batter.

"Hey, Uncle Qrow." Yang speaks up, focused intently on the pancake mix in the skillet. "Do you think mom and dad are going to like this?"

"You two made them breakfast, of course they'll like it."

Yang's lilac eyes seem to soften for a moment with an unreadable expression, but Qrow doesn't question it. "But you're doing most of the work."

Qrow shakes his head, reaching up and scratching at the scruff on his chin. "Nah, I'm just supervising. Making sure you two don't burn the house down." He does his best to reassure Yang, watching the girl's expression closely. She still seemed skeptical.

"So what you're saying is..." Yang's voice trails off slightly.

Ruby finishes the sentence. "So you don't want us to tell them that you helped us? Oh, Uncle Qrow, there are bubbles!" Ruby hops up and down on her stool, almost falling off of it. Qrow reaches out to steady her as he weave his way between Ruby and Yang to get to the skillets.

"You got it." He quickly reaches over to a small vase next to the stove that held a number of cooking utensils, grabbing a spatula from it. Qrow reaches forward with the spatula, lifting the sides of the pancakes to check that they weren't burning. Satisfied, Qrow flips the pancakes first, then the bacon before he speaks up. "Yang, could you get a plate and put a paper towel in it?"

"Sure thing!" Yang hops down from her footstool, going to find some plates and getting some paper towels from underneath the counter for Qrow. "But why don't you want them knowing about helping us?"

Qrow gives the skillet a quick wiggle to loosen up the bacon before removing the sizzling strips from the pan, dropping them on the now covered plate Yang was holding next to him so that he could drain away some of the grease. "I think it's better that your mom and dad think you did all the work. It looks better that way."

"So what are you going to do, Uncle Qrow?" Ruby pushes the bag of chocolate chips insistently towards Qrow, who simply reaches in, sprinkling a handful of chocolate chips onto each of the half-cooked pancakes.

Qrow smirks. "I'll pretend to be asleep, you two wake me up, everything makes you look good."

"And then?" Ruby watches as the chocolate melts into the pancakes with wide silver eyes and an even wider smile. "What happens then?"

"After that, you two are off to Vale Memorial Park for the day with your parents."

"Can we bring you?" Ruby looks away from the pancakes to look up into Qrow's red eyes.

"If they don't mind, I could come along."

Down the hallway, Qrow hears the sound of a door creaking open, Zwei whining lowly, then the sound of Taiyang's groggy voice asking the dog what was wrong. There's a long pause of silence, Qrow taking the opportunity to move the pancakes onto four empty plates, soon followed by the bacon. He gestures to Ruby and Yang, pointing out the plates to them and gesturing towards their parent's room.

Ruby and Yang exchange a look of understanding and pick up only two of the plates. Ruby leads the charge towards her parent's bedroom. "Mom, Dad!" Ruby cries on the way to their room. "Dad, get back into bed!" The girl stops at the door to shout before going in.

Qrow stays in the kitchen for a moment, removing the two skillets from the heat, turning off the oven and walking back over towards his couch to lie down and act as though he hadn't had any part in making breakfast. He closes his eyes, inhales deeply, and lets the scent of bacon and chocolate chip pancakes overtake his senses.

Qrow can't fall back asleep, largely because he's able to hear the girls, Summer, and Taiyang all talking just down the hall. With a resigned sigh, Qrow reaches for his duffel bag, pulling it close to him and finding the phone that he'd used the day before when he was out on patrol or whatever it was that James liked to call doing their alleged jobs. He opens up his contact list, reading it over while he let the Xiao Long-Roses have their breakfast. He reads through every name, pausing on James for a moment. It was awkward knowing that someone he was supposed to work with seemed to actively resent him. Qrow even finds himself wondering whether he was going to be able to make the work situation less bad between them.

Perhaps a little bit of how things were had to do with Qrow's actions the day before.

He could blame the whiskey, that was the one saving grace in this whole situation. Not that it sounded good.

No, Qrow tells himself. Blaming the whiskey sounded terrible.

The bedroom door creaks open. Qrow lets his eyes flick over to see that it was just Yang getting her and Ruby's breakfast. The blonde girl is soon followed out by Summer Rose, who was claiming that she had to go to the bathroom, leaving behind a cheering Ruby and Yang. She comes into the living room, crossing her arms over her chest and raising one eyebrow with a sly smirk on her face. Qrow looks up at her, catching her silver eyes for ust a second before tossing the phone back into his bag.

"Talking to someone?"

Qrow smirks, sitting up halfway and scratching at his shoulder. "Yeah, I met a cute waitress at the bar last night. Couldn't stop thinking about it. I hear the girls made breakfast."

"I had a feeling they had help." Summer sits down next to Qrow, sinking into the couch and smiling at him all the while. "Thank you, Qrow."

"It's nothing." Qrow answers, looking away from Summer evasively. "Helped me get over my hangover."

"You have a problem, Qrow." Summer's silver eyes soften with sadness, and he can hear her expression fall.

Qrow can't bear to look at her.

Summer sighs, reaching out and placing her hand on Qrow's shoulder to try and offer him a small amount of comfort. It's nice, Qrow finds himself thinking, but he quickly pushes the thought away. He'd had a schoolboy crush once, but it hadn't meant anything. It never had meant anything. None of his crushes ever meant anything. Besides, she was his in-law. "Qrow, you do know we're always here for you, right?"

"Yeah, I do." Qrow answers, reaching up and carding his fingers through his bangs, pushing them back out of the way so that he could feel a bit more comfortable. "Things are just weird is all, I don't like feeling like I'm mooching off of you."

"You know you aren't, Qrow." Summer turns her head and looks down the hallway for just a moment, looking for something that she could say to him, but can't think of much to say. "We just want you to be happy, Qrow. And we're sad that you're back like this. What happened?"

Qrow looks away from Summer again, not really sure what to say as he sifted through his thoughts looking for the best thing that he could possibly say to her. The truth of the circumstances would surely only be upsetting, but he didn't want to say much. "There were some unexpected expenses is all." Qrow's evasiveness shows, but Summer chooses not to pry. He's beyond glad for that.

"I trust you, Qrow. Do you have any idea how long you'll be here?" Summer sets her hands down in her lap.

Qrow thinks, looking over at his duffel beg where he'd left his phone that was his direct line of contact to all of the Wizard's people. "I think it'll depend on when this job pays out. Once that happens I should be able to get my own place again, assuming there's a landlord that'll take me." Red eyes snap back into place to meet silver.

Summer smiles. "Well, we all are here for you, either way. Especially as long as you're helping to take care of the girls and help out around the house." She smiles, standing up and offering Qrow her hand so that he could get up as well. "I have a feeling that you haven't eaten anything yet, so how about you get something to eat...unless-"

"I'm not so hungover that I can't eat if that's what you're wondering." Qrow rubs at his eye before taking Summer's hand with his free one, standing up and beginning into the kitchen with Summer, who immediately moved to the stove to look at the wreckage around it of him and the girls' attempt at making breakfast. "I tried to keep the mess contained."

Summer puts the two skillets back on heat, turning the stove back on and looks back at Qrow as she waited for the two skillets to warm up. "I'm truly grateful for you helping them, Qrow. They really love having you around."

"I know." Qrow chuckles. "The girls make it easy to stay."

Summer seems faraway for a long moment, and for just a moment the realization of what must have been flashing through her mind made Qrow's heart clench. Raven, probably. Internally, he curses himself for not being a bit more careful. His sister had become a bit of a taboo, and that broke his heart regardless of what had happened. "I'm glad you stay around for them. Tai and I both know how much you like being on the road and all of that."

"I just like the adventure." Qrow answers, watching as the woman made him his own helping of breakfast. "But it's nice having a home base for a while."

"So your apartment?"

"Evicted." Qrow answers, shortly. "Like I said, unexpected expenses. I couldn't pay my bills, and I got evicted, so I'm here now."

"Of course." Summer looks around the kitchen, seeing the half-full glass of water that was resting on the counter next to the sink. She steps away from the stove, pouring the water out and refiling it with cool water before setting it at the table beside Qrow. "So, tell me about this job of yours."

Qrow mouths the words thank you, reaching out for the cup of water and sipping from it, glad that he was feeling a bit less hungover and exhausted. The drinks from the night before seemed to have worn off enough at this point that he could actually function properly. "It's for the same guy as the last two." Qrow explains himself. "He basically contracts everyone whenever he needs them instead of keeping regular employees. Kind of a pain for us, but he pays pretty well."

"What does he want you to do?" Summer waves a hand over the two skillets, checking that they were warm enough before spooning some pancake batter into one and placing some bacon into the other skillet. She leans her hip against the counter, watching the food to check it was all cooking properly.

"Uh..." Qrow thinks for a moment, looking for the best explanation of what he could say to her that wasn't a complete lie. Summer always seemed to know when he was lying outright to her, though Qrow knew she didn't like to show it. She'd made that clear when they were living together in university with Taiyang and Raven. "It's kind of like a private security job. We make sure that things don't go poorly for him and he pays us handsomely for it."

"That's certainly an interesting line of work. Is that why you were out all yesterday?"

"Uh, yeah." Qrow answers, thinking back to the phone in the bag. The drive the day before. "I got assigned a new partner, seems like he's an expert. He wanted me to stay around so that he could show me his ways and methods or something."

Summer's expression creases into a devilish grin, Qrow realizing quickly that she might have already been getting ideas about what he'd just. "So, do you like him?"

Qrow hesitates a long moment, trying to figure out whether he was even capable of answering that question when it came to James. The other man was pretty drastically unlike him, and Qrow had a strong feeling that he would never really get on the other man's good side. Especially not considering the circumstances that had brought them together.

"He's a dick. Really stuck up." There's a moment's pause before Qrow continues. "I don't think he likes me."

Summer nods, flipping the pancakes and moving the bacon around in the skillet, creating a sizzling sound. "Well, hopefully you can get on his good side sooner than later."

Qrow chuckles, watching as Summer put some food onto a plate for him. "I'm hoping for that Summer, trust me."

The woman crosses the small kitchen before placing a plate with bacon and pancakes on it down in front of Qrow. She hesitates, looking back to the bedroom where Taiyang was still entertaining the girls, and where she'd surely left most of her breakfast. "I've always trusted you, haven't I?" She smiles sweetly down at him. "Why don't you join us all for breakfast in the bedroom?"

There's a moment of silence before Qrow raises an eyebrow, but concedes, standing up with his plate and following Summer out of the kitchen and into the bedroom that she and Taiyang shared. Surely enough, Taiyang was sitting cross-legged on the bed while Ruby and Yang sat on the edge of the bed, with an ironing board pulled out as a table for the pair to eat at. Zwei was lying on his bed in the corner, probably having been ordered to as a result of his begging.

Qrow had barely stepped into the room when he heard Taiyang's voice. "Hey little bird." The blond teased as Qrow took a seat in an old chair in the corner so that he could eat his breakfast. "How was your beauty sleep?"

Qrow rolls his eyes, picking up a strip of bacon with his fingers before pointing at Taiyang for a moment. "I slept perfectly, Tai Tai. I just might never give your couch back."

Tai smirks, watching as the girls ate their breakfast. Summer climbed in next to him, settling in and picking up her plate from the side table at the bed. "I heard that the breakfast fairy came by and helped the girls make me this bountiful feast." Taiyang's blue eyes glint, and for a moment, Qrow can't help but smile at the man's demeanor. "And the girls were wondering if the breakfast fairy would join us at the park today."

Qrow chews at the bacon idly, deciding to play dumb for the moment. "I don't know anything about a breakfast fairy." He chuckles, cutting into his pancakes with the side of his fork. "But I'm sure if there was a breakfast fairy they'd like going to parks and all of that."

Ruby seems to bounce on the edge of the bed, leading Summer to reach out and calm the girl down a bit so that Ruby wouldn't end up spilling both her and Yang's breakfast on the carpeted floor. "So you're coming, right Uncle Qrow?!"

Qrow chuckles. "Sure thing, petal. I'll come. You can say I'm your dad if you don't want people seeing how much of a dork this guy is." Qrow shoots Taiyang a joking look, which Tai takes in stride, putting on a wide, goofy grin. "See? I wouldn't want to be seen in public with that."

Summer reaches up, covering up her mouth with her hand as she suppressed a laugh. She looks between Qrow and Taiyang, then down at Ruby and Yang for a moment. Her smile is gentle as she pulls her hand away. "Ruby, Yang, finish your breakfast then go get ready."

"Alright!" Ruby cheers, kicking out a bit in excitement.

It's not long until the girls had finished their breakfast, running off into their shared bedroom to get dressed and ready for the day. Taiyang, Qrow, and Summer take advantage of the quiet to finish their own food, Taiyang taking the dirty plates into the kitchen when they were all done.

Qrow goes out to the living room to get his duffel bag, grabbing a set of jeans and a grey t-shirt with black sleeves before taking over the bathroom to change out of his pajamas and ensure that he was looking charmingly scruffy before leaving the bathroom for everyone else to use, slipping on his shoes before going to his duffel bag, grabbing his regular phone. He hesitates a moment, grabbing the second phone just in case he needed to talk to any of his new business associates.

"I'll be in the car!" Qrow shouts to the family as he stepped outside to where the family's minivan was sitting. He leans against the rear bumper, waiting for Summer, Taiyang, and the girls to come outside. It's several minutes, but soon Taiyang was leading the charge outside, holding the door until everyone was outside. Qrow, seeing the girls, goes to the side door of the van, pulling it open so that Ruby and Yang could climb into the two seats towards the front, meaning that he would get the three person seat in the very back to himself.

He makes sure that Ruby and Yang were buckled in before climbing into the back and reclining in the back seat. Taiyang and Summer climb in, with Taiyang starting the car to drive them to the park while Summer talked to the girls about how school was for them, and Yang began excitedly explaining that her class was going to have a field trip to The Beacon Institute, a science museum that was attached to one of the local universities.

The drive takes a bit, and Qrow spends it mostly occupied playing some sort of puzzle game on his phone in the back seat, only sitting up properly when Summer announces that they were almost there. Qrow sits up, putting his phone away by shoving it into his pocket.

He goes pale when Taiyang parks the van next to a familiar silver sedan.


	4. Custodians

Located in the center of the city, Vale Memorial Park stretched for nearly an acre, with every inch carpeted in plush green grass. It wasn't unlike most parks, with picnic areas and a soccer field available, and there was even one section of the park that held a playground, which was surrounded by a fence and a number of benches.

For the Xiao Long-Roses and Qrow, this was their main destination as opposed to the rest of the park. Taiyang and Summer walked in front of Qrow, who walked with a near permanent slouch. Spearheading the walk towards the playground were Ruby and Yang, charging ahead and ready to take on the world.

Qrow on the other hand was apprehensive, all because of the fact that he'd seen James' car there in the parking lot. He wasn't sure whether he was even allowed to see the man outside of 'business' meetings. If there were any rules about such a thing, Qrow certainly wasn't told them. All he knew was that James had said he'd call when it was time to meet.

Qrow's rusty eyes scanned the playground the entire time, looking for James , mostly so that he would be able to avoid the larger man. Just in front of him, Taiyang walked with Summer, her hand clutched in his. Unable to see James and slightly unhappy about that fact, Qrow shoved his hands deep into his pockets, deepening his slouched gait in the process.

Summer looked back over her shoulder at Qrow before asking quietly. "Something wrong?"

In one motion, Qrow straightened up. though his hands remained buried in his pockets. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine." His eyes flashed to the right, widening when he caught sight of a broadly-built man dressed in jeans and a sweater standing towards the side of the park, arms crossed over his chest as he watched someone on the slide. Why was the man dressed like that in the middle of summer? For just a moment, Qrow became painfully aware of the fact that he shouldn't have worn jeans. "I just wasn't expecting that it would be so hot."

Summer smiled, rolling her eyes. "Your fault." She laughed as they entered the playground area where Ruby and Yang were already climbing up on the jungle gym. Taiyang leads the way over to a bench where he can Summer could sit together, while Qrow took a seat on the fence behind them, once in a while looking over at the man who was still turned away from him. It had to be him.

A girl with bright orange hair emerged from the covered slide, jumping out a bit before running to the man in the sweater. Qrow watches as the girl took the man's hand, and looks away when he realized that the man was wearing a glove on his right hand. It was James for sure. Qrow catches himself inhaling sharply at the realization, and finds himself growing nervous. It all got worse with the realization that Taiyang had heard him.

The blonde turned on the bench, looking up at Qrow. "What's wrong little bird? Bees?" Taiyang looks away from Qrow, looking around the playground to figure out what it was that had made Qrow inhale so sharply and deeply. "Did you recognize a bartender? Waitress?"

"My new partner." Qrow corrects the man, silently wondering why it was that Taiyang seemed to think that he only knew food service workers. He keeps his volume down, letting his eyes flash back over to James, who was letting the tiny copper-haired girl drag him towards the swings. "The guy wearing a turtleneck in the middle of summer."

"Ugh, who does that." Taiyang looks around, seeing the man. "Huh."

Summer cranes her head slightly, trying to get a good view of James, who was pulling the girl back on the swing as far as he could before letting go, sending the girl forward. "That's your new partner?"

"Yup." Qrow watched James, crossing his legs at the ankles nonchalantly in an attempt to hide his discomfort with the situation at hand. "I just don't want him to notice me."

Taiyang scoffed, wrapping an arm around Summer's shoulders as he stretched out where he was sitting, back arching slightly as he made himself more comfortable in a position where he could still watch the girls. "You know you aren't going to be able to hide from him, right? It's kind of a public place." Taiyang's blue eyes flashed over to Qrow. "And if he does security or whatever you do, he's probably smart."

Qrow sighs. "Yeah, I know." Qrow drops his arms down to the fence he was sitting on, holding himself in place as his eyes flashed over to Yang and Ruby then over to James and the redheaded girl. He shakes his head, pushing back the feeling that he should get up and talk to James. There were a lot of reasons not to, including but not limited to the night before, the fact that James was there with a child that was presumably his, and the fact that Qrow seriously doubted that James would even want to see him.

James stepped away from the swingset, watching as the redhead pumped her legs harder and harder to propel herself higher and higher. He says something to the girl, but Qrow isn't able to make it out. A moment later James was walking towards a water fountain that wasn't too far off from the bench where the Xiao Long-Roses and Qrow were.

With a push of his arms and legs, Qrow got off of the fence and tried to shift closer to a nearby bush so that he could avoid a run-in with James when he heard the sound of Ruby shouting for attention. "Mom, Dad, Uncle Qrow!" Ruby was at the very top of the jungle gym, standing triumphantly with her hands on her hips. "Look!"

"Looks good Ruby!" Taiyang shouts back before looking up at Qrow, then back to his daughter, then back up at Qrow. When the blond spoke, he dropped his volume significant so that Ruby wouldn't be able to overhear. "Please go make sure she doesn't fall. You might be able to avoid your boss."

"On it." Qrow muttered back to Taiyang before he walked over to the jungle gym, still slouched over and looks up at Ruby, who was standing a bit over his head. "Hey kiddo."

"Hey Uncle Qrow." Ruby answers. The girl doesn't do anything to get off of the jungle gym. She only sat down, holding on to the bars so that she wouldn't be able to slip off or fall. Her head cocked to the side, red hair swaying with the motion as she examined Qrow. Her silver eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Dad sent you didn't he?"

Qrow nods, standing back so that Ruby wouldn't feel like she was being crowded at all with him there. Ruby's legs kicked for a moment before she was standing up on top of the jungle gym, leaping off and flying towards Qrow, who has to brace himself to catch the girl. He quickly shifts into a fighting stance, opening up his arms so that he could make sure she didn't get hurt on the landing. He catches the girl at chest-level, stepping back so he didn't lose his balance. In one motion, he dropped Ruby to the ground on her feet with a sigh. "What's next, Rubes?"

Ruby lands effortlessly, bouncing a bit on the landing. However, once Qrow had asked his question, her face screwed up in thought as she thought of a good answer for what she wanted to do. She put a finger on her chin, scanning the playground for something fun. Qrow takes the chance while she's looking around to look around the playground as well, though he was looking to figure out exactly where James was in relation to him. His eyes fell on James, who was walking back to the swingset, an unreadable expression on his face.

He almost wanted to call it emotionless, but that didn't seem correct. Not for James.

Qrow quickly averted his eyes back to Ruby. All at once, her eyes lit up at the sigh of the swingset, and she looks up at Qrow with a glint in her silver eyes. "I really the swings. Maybe I can get over the top bar!" Ruby was looking at the swings, holding a hand up to shield her face from the sun despite the fact that she was wearing a hood that could have served the same purpose. Qrow smirked, he'd seen Summer do the same thing a thousand times.

Sighing internally, Qrow looks back at the girl, then at the swings. "I'll push you if you want me to." Anything for his girls, Qrow reminds himself. Besides, it was a chance to fix things with James at the worst.

"Yes!" Ruby's voice is high in volume and pitch, full of energy. "This is why you're the best Uncle Qrow."

"I know I'm the best." Qrow smirks, stepping out of the way as Ruby broke into a sprint so that she could get to the swings and get the one on the far left, which she claimed was the best one. By the time that Qrow was shoving his hand into his pockets and beginning the walk over, Ruby had already clambered into a seat and was ready to go, feet kicking in excitement.

He's only a couple of feet way when he lets his eyes shift over to where James was. The man was nearing the swings, and for a moment Qrow found himself thinking that James was coming to talk to him. It doesn't register in Qrow's mind immediately that the man was coming over in his direction because Ruby had just taken a swing that was only two away from where the little redheaded girl was till swinging.

"C'mon uncle Qrow, I wanna swing." Ruby drags Qrow's attention back to her in one sentence. She was kicking her legs impatiently, gripping the chains next to her.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Qrow answers, stepping up behind the swing to grab the chains in the same way that he'd seen James do earlier. He pulls back, walking back as far back as he could before releasing Ruby, pushing her forward again as soon as she swung back in his direction.

To his right, Qrow hears the quiet sound of the redhead's voice as James stepped back up to the swing, leaning against one of the support beams, crossing his arms, and watching the girl. The copper haired girl had stopped kicking her legs, and Qrow hears James say something to her.

"Why did you stop swinging?" James' voice is impossibly soft. "Penny, you don't have to get off if you don't want to."

Qrow takes the moment to easedrop on the pair, picking up quickly on the fact that the girl's name was Penny. He looks over at the two of them from the corner of his eye, trying to figure out what was happening beside him.

The little redhead is quiet, looking down at her feet. "I was afraid you were going to go away again." Qrow watches silently as James steps in front of the swing, kneeling down so that he and the girl could match eye level.

"I'm not going anywhere, Penny." James mumbles the words, gently cupping the back ot Penny's head and pressing a soft kiss to the girl's forehead. "I promise."

She must have been Ruby's age, Qrow thinks.

Penny reaches out, wrapping her arm around James' neck in a tight hug. James returns the embrace, but takes the chance to make eye contact with Qrow. The look says everything.

Back. Off

"Would you push me again father?" The girl's voice is meek as she detaches herself from her father, but James smiles and nods, stepping behind the girl so that he could push her on the swing as high as he possibly could.

"Of course, Penny." James' hands reach out, and Qrow realizes that James was grabbing onto the chains of the swing and backing up, pulling the girl back with him. "Ready?"

"Yes sir!" Penny braces herself, holding onto the chains tightly.

James releases the chains. Penny swings forward, kicking with the motion of the swing. Whenever she came back James' way, he wold push her higher. ,After a bit, she was doing all the work on her own, swinging up higher. Once he was confident that Penny was safe, James steps back a foot or two, placing his hands in his pockets so that Penny could swing.

Qrow looks at James from the corner of his eye. He opens his mouth to speak, but James speaks first. The man's voice came out quiet. Painfully so.

"Qrow."

Qrow blanches. "You come here often, Jimmy?"

"It's James." The man's voice already was tinged with the sound of frustration, which made Qrow smirk. "And no, not usually."

Qrow nods, watching as Ruby waved at her mother and father from the swing. He then looked over to see Penny climbing higher and higher on the swing herself. "She's cute. Yours?"

James seems a bit surprised that Qrow was asking about Penny, but sighs. "Yeah, she is." His eyes travel over to Ruby for a moment, then back down to Qrow, brow raised. "Yours?"

Qrow shakes his head, raising a hand to wave away the question a bit. "Nah, she's my niece. I got roped into a family outing." Qrow drops his volume, not wanting to draw too much attention to him and James from the girls, or from Summer and Taiyang. "I'm sorry about last night, Jimmy. Little too much to drink at Roman's."

James seems to go rigid, clearly reluctant to discuss the events of the night before. The man reaches up with his left hand, rubbing at the space where his neck met his shoulder. "Hopefully next time I see you at the office you'll be better behaved." James sidesteps Qrow's comment carefully. Qrow doesn't need much to pick up on the fact that this was what James was doing.

"Right." Qrow answers the taller man. "I'll do my best, cut down on the coffee and whiskey." He steps a bit closer to James, hoping that he could talk to the man a bit more directly, though he seriously expected that James would shoot him down like a crow in a cornfield. Not entirely unlike how James had shot him down the night before when asked about a ride.

James sighs, removing his phone from his pocket. Qrow recognized it as the one from the night before. James goes to his messages and sends a message to someone. Qrow wonders who that message went to, but whoever it was, they were connected. "I've been looking to schedule a meeting, you know." Qrow perks up a bit when James says this. "But Ms. Schnee is having difficulty finding a space in her schedule for it."

Qrow looks up at where Ruby was swinging to check that she hadn't noticed they were talking, then back to James, continuing the conversation in code. "Well, if you needed me to, I could try to make it to the office soon. Sober too."

James' blue eyes narrow a bit, and Qrow realized that the taller man was looking across the playground to where Taiyang and Summer were, squished together on the bench. In one motion, cobalt flashes back to meet Qrow's eyes. "I suppose I could schedule a  
meeting for tonight." For just a moment, Qrow sees a flash of sadness cross James' face. Sees James' eyes travel up to Penny. "But it'll have to be late."

For just a moment, Qrow is silent, unsure of what he was supposed to say. He didn't really want to ask James about what was going on, if only because of the risk of making things worse. "If you want to spend your time with your family, I'm alright with waiting. I think mine might want me to stick around for a night anyways."

James looks back up at Penny and nods. "I think that we could schedule a meeting for Monday night and everything could work out well that way." His eyes flick back to Qrow. "Besides, we should be able to get Schnee to join us if we do it then."

Qrow nods. "That sounds good." He keeps his tone controlled, watching as Ruby reached the absolute peak of how high she could go on the swing before flying off into a pile of dirt that was nearby the swings with a loud cheer. He's barely aware of the fact that James seemed to go into a mild frenzy at the sight. He saw the way James' eyes shot up to Penny to make sure that the girl wasn't about to pull a similar stunt.

"Uncle Qrow, did you see?!" Ruby rushes back over to her uncle, leaping at him and attaching herself around his waist in a hug. "I got to the top and then it was like I flew, it was so cool." The girl releases Qrow after receiving a quick pat on the top of her head. She steps back, looking up at her uncle, then over at James.

Qrow looked between them. "Oh, Ruby, this is Jimmy. He's the partner I told you about."

James seems a bit shocked opening his mouth to correct Qrow, looking down at Ruby, then back at Qrow, pure surprise reading clearly on his face. Qrow almost thought that he'd broken through James' tough exterior, but barely three seconds later, James was straightening up. "It's James, actually. Hello, Ruby." James smiles gently down at the redhead, his voice so soft that Qrow found it hard to believe that it was coming from the same man that he'd met the night before. "Qrow didn't mention he had a niece."

Ruby looks up at James, grinning widely at the man all the while. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Jimmy." Ruby reaches out, offering James her left hand to shake. For just a moment, James hesitates before taking her hand with his right one and giving it a quick shake, visibly uncomfortable. Ruby seemed to pick up on it, pulling away once the shake was done.

There's a squeaking sound as the remaining used swing slows to a stop, with Penny approaching James from behind. She reaches out for him, and James doesn't hesitate a second to take the girl's hand in his left. "Are you alright, Penny?"

Penny nods, looking up at her father. "I was wondering who you were talking to."

James nods, standing up straight and gesturing to Qrow. "Well, Penny, this is Qrow. He works with me and Winter."

The girl's wide green eyes shoot up to Qrow, for for just a moment, Qrow realized that she was ready to shrink behind her father's leg. "Salutations, Mr. Qrow." Penny says the word, with quite a bit of pep in it before looking at Ruby and titling her head. It's quiet, but Ruby breaks the silence.

"Hi!" The girl reaches out for her hand for Penny to shake, smiling widely. Penny looks up at James for just a moment, with James only nodding to her. Feeling reassured, Penny reaches out, taking Ruby's hand and shaking it. "I'm Ruby."

"It's a pleasure to meet you!"

Ruby looks at Penny, smiles widely, then looks around the playground for a moment. "Wanna go play on the slide?" Ruby's gaze snaps back towards Penny, and she puts on the widest grin that she possibly could.

Penny seems to perk up a bit, her orange bobs moving with her head. "I would love to, but-" She detaches her hand from James'. "Father?"

"Go ahead, Penny. Go have fun. I'm not going anywhere." James' voice is impossibly gentle, Qrow notes. Penny focuses back on Ruby before nodding excitedly, the two girls running off to play on the slide. James shoves his right hand and phone into his pocket as the two girls ran, watching them both the entire while. "Ruby seems sweet."

Qrow looks around the playground, pointing out a spare bench that the two of them could use. Noticing the gesture, James nods, beginning to walk with Qrow over to the bench. "Ruby's great. Her sister Yang is around somewhere, I'm sure Ruby will introduce Penny to her."

James takes a seat on the bench, angling himself so that he could keep a close eye on Penny and Ruby. "I'm just glad Penny gets to spend time with someone her own age." The man shakes his head, raising a hand to push some unruly hair out of his face, only for it to fall immediately back into his face. "I apologize for the speaking in code, it's just..."

"You don't want your kid to know." Qrow finishes James' sentence, looking across to see that Taiyang had left the bench he was sharing with Summer and was hanging upside down from the monkey bars, showing off for Yang and a blonde boy. "I get that."

James nods. "Do you think you can go on Monday?" He keeps his voice restrained, Qrow realizes. For just a moment, he wonders where the gentle man talking to the children had gone. "I'd like to get our part of the job done sooner than later. Causes fewer issues down the line."

Qrow leans back on the bench, making himself comfortable there. "Yeah, I know. I think I can do Monday, but whether I can get into Atlas that day depends a lot of my brother-in-law." He looks back at James. "I don't drive much." Deep down, Qrow hopes that James wouldn't be able to read between the lines and figure out that he had a suspended liscense. Or that he'd sold his car when his liscense was suspended.

James nods in understanding. "Well, if you need a way into the city that night, I can drive out here and get you." James shrugs. "You have my number."

Qrow thinks for a moment, something dawning on him for the first time. He was about 90% certain that James lived out in Atlas. "What are you doing in Vale anyways? I doubt you drove out here just so that you could go to the park."

James chuckles. "I promised Penny we'd go to the Beacon Institute Museum today since it's our first time together in-" James hesitates a long moment. Involuntarily, his right hand balled into a fist. "In a while. She wanted to see the exhibit on robotics that's usually in Atlas, but it's on loan right now."

Qrow looks back in the direction where Ruby and Penny had run off, almost curious about what James had just said. "So have you?" He sees James raise an eyebrow. "Gone to the exhibit."

"Oh." James mumbles, doing his absolute best to hide his discomfort. He personally wouldn't have wanted to go to such an exhibit, but Penny wanted it. He'd worked in the robotics industry for a while so everything in the exhibit was stuff he'd seen a thousand times before. But considering his recent repairs, Penny was eager to learn everything she could about robots. He'd do anything for Penny, after all. "Yeah, we were going to see it this afternoon. We decided to stop here so that Penny could play first." He folds his hands together in his lap, watching his daughter laugh happily and play with Ruby. "I didn't expect to run into you anywhere outside of the meetings and planning."

Qrow nods, watching the two girls, smiling as Yang joined them. "Yeah, neither did I." Qrow leans back, and for a moment, his mind flashes back to the night before and the gas station. "So about last night."

"It was work." James mutters the words. "And we have to go back in, check on the area again. Everything has to be..." his hands clench, and for a moment James realizes that his metal hand was too strong, right making left ache. In one motion, James relaxes his hands, pulling them apart and reaching into his pocket to find his keys, which he found himself fiddling with as he sat there next to Qrow. A low sigh. "Everything has to be perfect. The risk if it isn't is too high."

Qrow shifts in his seat, James' discomfort radiated over to him, and he didn't even know why. "Yeah, I get that." He turns his head, looking over to see that Summer and Taiyang seemed to be laughing about something, Summer shooting a look at him once in a while from across the playground, smiling devilishly. "So you're never going to tell me what happened last time, huh?"

James' eyes narrow, and he stands up distancing himself from Qrow in two steps. "What happened isn't your business." All at one, all of the kindness and gentleness of his voice seemed to leave in one wave. "And I highly doubt it ever will be."

Qrow stands up himself, eyes flickering over to Summer and Tai to figure out whether they were watching him and James or not at the moment. "They don't talk about it, and all anyone will say about it is that it was bad." Qrow steps towards James, pushing into the taller man's space and forcing direct eye contact with James. For just a moment, Qrow realizes how impossibly blue James' eyes were. "If it was that bad, what are you even doing back?"

The taller man reaches up, putting his flesh and blood hand between the two of them and pushing Qrow back away. "That's not your business. And it never will be."

For just a moment, the red-eyed man's eyes narrow, and he's about to open his mouth to say something when he realized that James had turned, and was walking away from him, right hand shoved angrily into his pocket as he walked over to where the three girls were playing.

James stops.

Turns.

Cobalt eyes narrow.

"When I need you to work, I will let you know, understand?"

"Yeah." Qrow snarls the word out, already realizing that he had just set himself back in getting on James' good side when he'd been making some progress on getting the man to open up to him. "Fine."

"Good." With that, James walks over to where Penny was just climbing out of the slide. Qrow doesn't know what James is saying to her, but he sees that James had offered her his hand, and she'd taken it reluctantly. It looked like Penny was saying her goodbyes to both Ruby and Yang.

With a sigh, Qrow plops down on the plush grass next to Summer and Taiyang's bench. Taiyang looks down at him, and grins. "Trouble?" The blond looks in James' direction, the back to Qrow. "It's funny, this one doesn't look like a waiter, or a bartender, or a cook or anything."

Qrow finds himself groaning internally at Taiyang's joke. "He's my coworker, so he's not a food service worker. He's just a-" Qrow cuts himself off, realizing that Ruby and Yang were seemingly dragging James and Penny over in the direction of the bench. Penny was dragging her father behind her like he was a stuffed animal.

"Mom, Dad!" Yang raises a hand over her head in a lazy half-wave, catching all of their attention. "Mom, Dad, we want you to meet Penny!"

Summer looks at Qrow for a moment, then lets her eyes flick to James' face for a moment, then back to the girls. She leans forward in her seat, offering Penny her hand.

Penny half tucks herself behind James' leg. In one smooth motion, James releases her hand, giving Penny the space to decide what she wanted to do. Her green eyes widen for a moment, and Summer is able to recognize the flash of anxiety across the girls' face.

"Hello Penny." Summer keeps her voice soft, still offering the girl her hand. "I see you've met Ruby and Yang."

"They're very nice." Penny answers, relaxing a little bit and stepping out from behind James. "Thank you for letting me play with them."

Summer smiles at her daughters before her eyes flashed back to Penny. "It's very nice to meet you."

Penny perks up, and Qrow is able to see some of the tension leave James' shoulders. Penny looks up at James, then back to Summer as though she wanted to say something particular but couldn't think of anything to say. James, realizing Penny's discomfort offers Summer and Taiyang his left hand to shake, right shoved into his pocket and out of sight.

"I'm James, Penny's father."

Summer takes James' hand, giving it a quick, strong shake. "I hear you work with our Qrow."

"That is correct." James chuckles, eyes flashing down to Qrow for just a moment. They refocus on Summer quickly, and Qrow is simply left wondering how James was able to switch demeanor so quickly. "And it seems our girls get along quite well."

Summer nods, smiling at Ruby and Yang, then Penny. Her eyes meet James', and without a word passing between them, James looks down at Penny, nodding to give her permission to run off and play with Ruby and Yang. "Five minutes then we're going, ok?"

"Yes, Father!"

Penny snaps James a quick salute, before she ran off with Ruby and Yang to play a bit more. James readjusts his focus back to Summer, Taiyang, and Qrow. He seems to think for a moment, before looking back over at the three girls. From where he's sitting, Qrow realizes that James seemed to be sucking in his cheek a bit. The taller man's blue eyes refocused on them all at once. "It's good to see Penny getting along with kids her age."

Summer tilts her head, thinking for a moment. She shoots a look to Taiyang, earning a wide grin from her husband. "You know, because you work with Qrow, we could work out a time for them to play again."

Qrow's eyes widen, his and James' eyes meeting for just a moment. It almost felt like the two of them were having a silent conversation, but Qrow couldn't exactly pin down what they were saying to each other aside from a resounding "they cannot know." James takes the lead, which Qrow is glad for.

"I'm sure we could arrange something." James' voice is as friendly as ever. "There's always going to be opportunities to take work home so that the girls can see each other." Qrow realizes that James' eyes had lingered on him for a moment. "And I'm sure the girls won't mind us being busy with work as long as they get to play together."

Qrow nods. "Yeah, I'm sure Jimmy here will be able-"

"It's James."

"Right, right." Qrow chuckles. "I'm sure he'll be able to get to Vale more easily than I can get to Atlas anytime." Qrow stands up, brushing some dirt off of his pants as he got closer to James' eye level. He plasters a shit-eating smirk across his face. "Hell, he could even do it tonight if he wanted to."

James' eyes narrowed.

"After all, he's already in Vale. And we have work to do already." Qrow tries to stay light sounding.

James' voice hardens. "This weekend isn't any good." His eyes travel back over to Penny, softening for a long moment. "I haven't gotten to spend a lot of time with her lately. I'd rather get some time with my daughter before planning playdates."

Qrow frowns slightly. "Well, then we'll just meet when we can, won't we?"

"Yes, we will." James looks to Taiyang and Summer. He reaches into his pocket with his left hand, and for a moment Qrow realized that the motion looked clumsy. Now that was interesting. From his pocket, James retrieved a black scroll, with silver filigree engravings on it. It must have been a recent model, Qrow found himself thinking. "Is there any good way I can reach you in the future about this?"

Taiyang takes the helm now, standing up and getting his own phone from his back pocket, and for a moment the two exchanged contact information. James was just about to put his phone away when Penny and Ruby ran over, almost perfectly on time. His eyes travel down to his daughter, and James smiles sweetly down at her for a lingering moment. It almost made Qrow want to melt seeing it.

"Would you like to be able to see Ruby and Yang again, Penny?"

Penny's green eyes lit up like fireworks. "I would like that very much!" She looks over at Ruby. "Ruby's my first real friend!"

There's a flash of something in James' eyes, and for a moment, Qrow realizes that the man was swallowing uncomfortably as he put away his scroll. "We'll try to work something out so you can see each other again, ok?""

"Alright!" Ruby squeaks the word out, bouncing into the air a bit with excitement. "Penny, I'm so glad I got to play with you."

"Oh, I am too Ruby! I'm glad you want to be my friend." Penny smiles widely, her eyes crinkling up and moving all of her freckles around with the motion. She looks back up at James and offers him her hand. James takes her hand, her right in his left. "I'm ready to go, father. I don't want to miss the exhibit."

James nods, squeezing Penny's hand gently before looking to the Xiao Long-Roses and Qrow and smiling between all of them. "It was great meeting all of you . I hope we'll be able to get things together soon." His eyes flash to Qrow. "I'll be seeing you on Monday. Don't forget your portfolio."

"Yeah, yeah." Qrow shrugs, looking away from James and reaching for his pocket to find his flask, which earned him a sharp look from Taiyang. He drops his hand back down to his side. "Monday night. Have fun at your museum, Jimmy."

"It's James."

"Whatever. See you Monday."

"Right." James smiles at Taiyang, Summer, and Qrow before focusing a particularly soft smile onto Ruby. "I suppose we'll be seeing the rest of you whenever we see you."

"It was nice to meet all of you!" Penny exclaims from James' side. The Xiao Long-Roses said their goodbyes, leaving Qrow to watch as James and Penny left the park, eyes lingering on the pair for just a moment too long.

Summer grins widely at Qrow's side. "Like watching him go?"

"Shut up."

Qrow suddenly found himself simultaneously anticipating and dreading Monday night.


	5. Neutral

James would have preferred if Monday night hadn't come so soon.

His body ached. His head felt like it was going to split open after a long day of looking for legitimate work. Work that wouldn't get people killed, or dismembered, the kind of work that he'd gone to school for. The kind of work that he wanted Penny to go into as opposed to what he did.

And worst of all, now he had to drive to Roman's apartment to meet with Winter and Qrow for their next trip to review the two gas stations that they'd been assigned. He really wasn't looking forward to having to deal with them both in his car again. Especially not when he had a migraine and every part of his body was screaming for rest.

In theory he could have one of them reassigned. Maybe.

He grimaced at the sight of Roman's apartment coming into view. James finds himself drumming on the steering wheel as he sat at the lights, waiting for red to turn to green so that he could go and get some work done. It's a few minutes, but soon James is pulling into the parking space that he'd used on Friday, parking, and heading inside.

After an elevator ride up to Roman's floor James was sure that he was going to drop. Or that his leg was going to fall off. He wasn't sure which would happen first.

James groaned on the way out of the elevator, trying to ignore the way that his right side was bringing him nothing but pain, and that he had a migraine, or how his left arm was aching due to a mixture of old injuries and humidity wracking his bones. He drags himself to Roman's front door.

Knocks.

Waits.

The door creaks open, and James looks up expecting to see Junior open the door, since the two were usually at eye level, but saw nothing. He looked a bit lower, looking for Roman, only to see it wasn't him either that had opened the door. Instead, it was a tiny girl, with bright green eyes and short slick black hair looking up at him.

Why was one of Junior's daughters here?

The girl blinks twice, then turns her head. "One of your friends is here, papa!"

From the kitchen, James can hear Roman's voice. "Which one?" Roman sounded like he was occupied with something at the moment, and the scent of tomatos and cooking beef wafted out of the apartment.

The girl blinks again, tilting her head slightly and staring up at James. Her bangs swayed to the side, perfectly cut. Roman's handiwork, with any likelihood, James thought. But the scrutiny was more than enough to make James uncomfortable. "Really tall." The girl says. "Black hair."

Junior comes into the room, looking more than a little exasperated. "Mili, that describes nearly everyone I work with-" His eyes fall on James.

"Hello Junior." James chuckles, looking up at the man. "Mind if I come in?"

"Mili, let him in. You have to get ready to go to Grandma Xiong's." The girl stepped away from the door, running into another room, her red skirt flapping behind her as she ran.

James took the opening to step into the room and remove his jacket, hanging it on a hook next to the door. "It appears I'm early." James says, grimacing again. "I'm going to need your recliner."

"All yours." Junior answers. "I was just about to bring the girls to my mother's for the evening." The man was straightening his tie as he waited for the girls to come in so they could go.

James crosses the room to reach the recliner, limp affecting his gate. He seats himself slowly, carefully, sinking down into the plush microsuede chair and almost immediately becoming one with it. "I have the worst headache. And my... injuries feel like they're going to split."

From the kitchen comes Roman's voice. "Do you want something for it?"

"I would kill for anything that could kill the pain." James answers, squeezing his eyes shut and bringing his fingers to his temples, rubbing in a circular motion. "And whatever you have, two tabs, please. I'll just make Winter or Qrow drive."

Roman comes out of the kitchen, red sauce smeared on his cheek, carrying a familiar white bottle with him. When he got close, James looks up at him. Roman tosses it to James, who simply lets the bottle land in his lap without any protest. He didn't have the energy for it. "You look like hell."

James nods, picking up the bottle and unscrewing the cap to pour a pair of chalky white tablets into his left palm. He quickly pops them into his mouth and swallows them dry. He caps the bottle again, tilting his head back so that he can relax and let the medication do its wonders. "My everything hurts. And I've spent all day handing out resumes."

"Girls, five minutes!" Junior shouts down a hallway as he grabbed his jacket and began putting on his shoes. "You know if you need it, I'm sure we have a place at the bar where I could put you."

"I know." James answers. "Just trying to find something I have training for first."

"I can sympathize." Junior answers. Right then, came a string of girls. The twins, with their matching bright green eyes, followed by Neo, with her pink and brown hair and mismatched eyes. Neo led the charge, running to silently pull on her sneakers, while the twins followed behind, each putting on their shoes once Neo was done.

James raises a hand to wave to all of the girls, whom he hadn't seen in a little over a year if he had to guess. "Hello Mr. Ironwood." The twins spoke in perfect unison, whilst Neo simply waved back before signing the word 'hello' to James.

Junior opens the door, ushering the girls out of the apartment so that he could drive them to their grandmother's for the night. Why Neo was going with Junior and the twins, James wasn't immediately sure about. He knew that a lot had changed over the last year, but James wasn't sure just how much. And he hadn't exactly gotten to talk to Roman or Junior much casually lately.

Lucky for him, with Junior gone it meant that he would be able to talk to Roman. The apartment door closes, leaving the two men alone. James closes his eyes, hearing Roman rummaging around in the kitchen before coming into the living room where James was. Roman's red hair was pinned back and out of the way with some bobby pins, and he was removing the apron that he'd been using in the kitchen.

"It's been a while, General." Roman smirks as he sank down onto the couch, in full view of James. "Why so early? Did you miss me that much?"

James shrugs, resting his temple against his fist and looking over at Roman. "I was in the neighborhood," he began, "and I really needed to just rest. Pain."

Roman crosses his legs, resting his elbow on one knee and leaning forward so that he would be able to get a better look at James. "You were really messed up, I can't be surprised." Roman pauses, straightening up a bit in his seat. "You know, we didn't think we'd ever have you back."

"I know." James answers. "But since I spent most of the last year either unconscious or on bedrest, a lot has changed. I'm unemployed, I've been trying to recover, and my medical bills are stacking up." A sigh. "Rapidly."

Roman frowns. "We're glad to have you back, regardless." His eyes travel to the door, thinking about what had changed for him and Junior as well. It's then that James notices a bright green gem on Roman's finger.

James wasn't comfortable reading into it.

The smaller man shifts a bit in the place where he was sitting, standing up a moment later and stretching, catlike. "Are you just here until Winter and Qrow turn up?"

James shrugs. "I think so, but I have some... concerns about them."

"Yeah, they get along like hell, don't they?" Roman smirks. His emerald eyes fall on James, who was partially shielding his eyes from the light. "I can imagine you don't want to have to deal with them today."

"Not if they're going to be fighting." James answers. "Which feels like a guarantee if Friday was any indication."

Roman opens his mouth to say something but is interrupted by someone knocking on the door. His mouth snaps shut. "One moment." He stands up, going to the door and pulling it open for whoever was there. "Glynda, good to see you. James is in the living room, Junior's going to be out for a bit."

James hears the sound of Glynda's heels click clacking against the hardwood floor before she came into view and seated herself on the couch, where Roman soon joined her. Glynda adjusts her glasses on her face before looking at James more directly "James."

"Glynda." James sits forward a bit, wincing slightly as he adjusted his position so that he could look directly at the woman and Roman. "Buf if we can see about either moving Qrow or Winter out of my car, that would be ideal."

Glynda looks at Roman, the two sharing a silent conversation of some sort. It's barely a minute before Glynda is getting her tablet out, presumably getting into contact with Ozpin to see about shifting around the squads. "You know we don't usually do this, James." Her voice is hard. Professsional.

James had the feeling that she spoke to her with the same tone that she spoke to her students with.

"I do, but those two together is bad news. Qrow's a rookie, and Winter..." James answers Glynda promptly, frowning and feeling his heart clench in his chest. He hesitates a long moment, trying to find the way to say what he wanted to. "If something goes wrong, I don't want her in the car with me. For her sake."

"I'll see what I can do." Glynda answers, tapping something on her tablet and concentrating, leaving James and Roman to wait. Roman gets up, going into the other room to stir something and comes back with a cup of water for himself and another for James, which James took graciously.

He at least could feel the headache beginning to subside, which was a small relief. James closes his eyes, reaching up to his shoulder where metal met flesh and rubs at it, feeling very little give to help the physical pains subside. There's the sound of a click, signaling that the tablet was in standby mode. Glynda's voice soon followed.

"Ozpin has agreed to allow for you to take Qrow alone out with you, with Winter coming under my wing. " Glynda's voice sounds almost bored. "Which is probably good, you aren't likely to get bowled over by Qrow's personality. And Winter will listen to me."

James opens his eyes, feeling slight relief. This was fort he best, he reminded himself. "I've heard that there have been two jobs that Qrow has been on before. How did those go?" He drapes a hand over his right knee. "I figure it'd be good to know."

"I wouldn't call it terrible." Roman speaks up. "It was all petty robbery stuff, the guy's a good shot. Fast. Great for a scout. Just inexperienced."

"So?"

"If he doesn't want to be noticed in a crowd, he won't be James." Glynda answers. "Which should be good for you."

James nods, hearing the sound of the door opening, and the clacking of heels. The sound was less deliberate than Glynda's gait. Winter had arrived. Before he could even say something, Glynda was speaking.

"Winter." The woman's bright green eyes focused on the girl quickly. "You'll be with me for the rest of the job, We'll be heading out as soon as you're ready."

Winter stands, back straight as a rod, looking between the three adults in the room. For just a moment, James could have sworn that he'd seen a flash of disappointment in Winter's eyes. It was for the better, he reminds himself again. "Of course." Winter doesn't kick her boots off and goes straight to Glynda, seating herself on an old loveseat that had been cuddled into a few too many times.

It's a few minutes, with Glynda trading information with Winter about their assignments, and Winter taking the time to send James all of the photos that she'd taken on Friday evening to him so that he would be able to work more directly and have a better idea of what the interior of the store would look like when he and Qrow went in. While the women talked, James simply reviewed when he had from the trip he'd taken with Qrow and Winter.

The conversations are broken by a beeping sound from Glynda's tablet. The woman stands, her heels clacking against the hard floored apartment. "Winter, it's time."

"Yes, ma'am." James notices that the girl was fixing her bun and trailing Glynda closely. His eyes flash over to Glynda, then back to Winter. If he didn't know better, he would have thought that Winter was Glynda's daughter.

Which was only more than slightly strange to think about.

"Good luck." James says as Glynda crosses him. He drops his voice in volume. "Take care of her, Glynda"

"I will, James."

With that, Glynda was gone.

James reaches into his pocket, finding his second phone and dialing Qrow's number. He holds the phone to his ear, listening closely in hopes that he could get an idea as to where Qrow was at the moment. The phone rings.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Four times.

No answer.

James grits his teeth, hanging up as the phone went to voicemail. He looks over to Roman, who was still lounging on the couch, clearly waiting for Junior to get home. "Is Qrow usually late?"

"Yeah." Roman doesn't move to look at James, instead focusing on pinning his hair back into place. "I think the only time he's ever been on time was Friday. And that's only because he needed a place to crash out the night before."

"Fantastic." James' frustration tinges his voice, leading for Roman to raise an eyebrow almost immediately. It was no secret that James like promptness and tight schedules. Working with someone who was unlikely to be on time didn't sit so well with him.

"Don't like him?" Roman tilts his head, his green eyes meeting James' blue.

James hesitates, not really sure what he was supposed to say. Saturday morning had changed his opinion of Qrow slightly, but he wasn't sure how much of that had to do with Qrow, and how much of that had to do with the fact that Ruby looked at him like he was the sun itself. James had always had a soft spot for children, which had only softened once Penny was born and he started helping Winter. If Ruby loved Qrow that much, there had to be something good there.

In theory, at least.

He raises a hand, trying to push back his hair, only for the unruly bits to fall back into place as they always did. "I don't know what I think of him, Roman. He's... frustrating."

"Yeah, he is." Roman chuckles. "Me and Junior don't mind him though, as long as he's sober in front of the girls. The last thing we need is for two nine year olds and a six year old picking up on his habits, you know?"

Oh, how James knew. He silently thanked Qrow for being sober that Saturday morning, since it meant that Penny didn't have to be exposed to someone who was drunk for the first time.

"I was going to ask about that." James says, catching Roman's emerald eyes. "Before... you and Junior only seemed to drink together. Now you're living together?"

"Engaged, actually." Roman chuckles, raising a hand to flash the stone that was on his ring finger. "We moved in together to save money, then the kids hit it off, then we hit it off. Started dating, got engaged." Roman's voice seems to soften slightly, hand dropping back out of sight. "I'm sorry you've had to miss so much, Jim. I can't imagine what it's like. Are you still trying to adjust to life outside of the hospital?"

James nods. "Yeah, I am. I got to spend last weekend with Penny alone for the first time since... well, before. And I haven't had an appointment in a couple of weeks. So now I'm trying to figure out work, and figure out how I can stop doing... well, this." He sighs lowly. "I just feel like I've missed a lot. I wasn't awake for my own kid's birthday, I lost my job, I missed Winter getting her first apartment." James sucks in on the side of his cheek, cradling his head between his hands. "And there's this... gap in my memory. Months worth. Some I was even awake for, I just..."

"I get it, Jim." Roman's eyes are surprisingly soft. "You know it's not your fault, right?"

"I don't know that." James answers as the door to the apartment opened, Junior stepping in with Qrow following behind him mid-laugh. James' eyes narrow slightly at the sight of Qrow, but he stands up, testing the waters a bit to make sure that the pain that had been shooting through his side had subsided some. "I'll see you, Roman." James says as he walks towards the door, grabbing his jacket and pulling it on.

"You sure you're ok to do this tonight?" Roman asks, concern tinging his voice. "Because if you can't, you don't have to."

James hesitates, sucking in on his cheek as he looked at Qrow, who seemed deeply interested in what Roman had just said. "I think I'll be alright, Roman. A little pain never killed anyone." In all truth, if he felt that backing out for the night was an option, James would have. But he had to prove to himself that he could do this.

"Take care, James. We don't want to lose you again."

"Thanks." James' eyes narrow into a glare, directed towards Qrow. He steps close to the smaller man on the way out the door. "You're late."

Qrow reaches out, pushing James away and sidestepping out of the taller man's way nonchalantly. "Tai got us caught in traffic on the bridge." Qrow's voice is hard. "What was all of that about? And why isn't ice queen coming with us?"

James sighs, stepping into the elevator so that they could go down to the car. "I had Winter placed on another squad for the job." Qrow slides into the elevator with James, leaning against a hand railing and watching as James reached out, giving the button that would take them to the ground floor a quick, hard push.

Qrow seemed to be taken aback by James' comment. "Why? I thought you liked her." He scratches his chin, fluorescent lights glinting off of his jewelry. "Seems weird you'd take me over her."

"I did it because I like her." James answers, short. "She's like a daughter to me and I don't want her to deal with your... antagonism. And nobody else is willing to take you."

The elevator begins lowering with a lurch, James, grabbing onto one of the handles on the side of the box so that he wouldn't lose his balance or risk getting hurt. Qrow doesn't even move. "Jimbo, I'm hurt." Qrow mutters. "I thought we were starting to get along on Saturday."

"Once again, my name is James. And as for Saturday? The kids were around." James answered, jaw clenching through the words. "And I didn't want to ruin the day for my daughter. Or your nieces."

"How was the museum?" Qrow looks down at his feet, not wanting to make eye contact.

"Penny enjoyed it." James doesn't make eye contact either, instead staring up at the numbers above the door so that he could watch and know first when they reached the right floor. James was sure that someone could cut through the awkwardness with a chainsaw. "Which is what mattered." His voice softens slightly, but it's tight with pain.

"Ah, that's... good." Qrow sighs, feeling the elevator pull to a stop. "So, what was the thing about pain you were saying up there?" Qrow shoves his hands deep into his pockets as he led the way out of the elevator. "Because you aren't sounding too good there, Jimmy."

"Nothing." James' voice is hard.

His teeth grit.

His hands ball into fists at his sides.

"Jimmy-"

"James."

Qrow rolls his eyes. Of course. "Right." His rusty eyes narrow as he examines James' face for a moment as the taller man stepped out of the elevator and began walking towards the silver sedan. Qrow watches as James came to a stop beside it, hesitating as he got out his keys. James' brow furrows, frustration and pain mixing and reading clearly on his shoulders. "Uh... so, Jim."

"What now, Qrow?" James sounded like he was about to snap.

"You ok?"

"Yes." James answers. Hesitates. "No."

"Do you want me to drive?" Qrow asks, gesturing to the car. "If you aren't feeling it, I can. I have a license, just no car."

"When was the last time you drove?" James watches Qrow, massively unsure about letting him drive.

Qrow looks away for a moment, eyes tilting up and to the right in thought. His face screwed up. "I brought the girls to school this morning."

It was a good enough answer, and it made James feel slightly more reassured about it. James sighs. Holds out the keys which jingled quietly with the motion.. "It's new. Please don't do anything to it."

Qrow reaches out, snatching the keys from James' hand before clambering into the driver's side of the car, while James took up shotgun. Qrow sinks into the seat, adjusting it slightly so that he could reach the pedals more comfortably. James slides into the passenger's seat, lowering himself into it stiffly. "She's nice, Jimmy." Qrow says, feeling the leather of the steering wheel under his hands. "I'll try not to hurt her."

"Please don't gender my car." James mutters. "It's weird."

Qrow slides the keys into the ignition, turning them and hearing the way that the engine purred to life. "I miss driving." Qrow chuckles. James looks over at the man and sighs. Qrow settles into the seat further, squaring his shoulders and beginning to adjust everything to his own liking. Mirrors in place, seat distance, everything.

James watches him, feeling no small level of frustration building since he knew that he'd have to reset everything later on. However, of all the things that Qrow did, there was one that frustrated James more than anything else. "Qrow, seatbelt. For my sanity."

The driver rolls his eyes, buckling his seatbelt. "You're such a dad." Qrow pulls out of the parking lot, beginning on the way towards the gas station that they'd been at the week before. "So, the pain thing."

"I took something for it."

"Right." Qrow says, eyes on the road. "You going to be ok to do this?" He doesn't expect an immediate answer from James. "I get that you don't like talking about whatever happened, but it's still really clearly on your mind. All the time. If you aren't going to be ok, tell me now and I can get you home or something."

Qrow's concern left James feeling a little bit more than blindsided. He found himself with his hands in his lap, left rubbing against right idly. All he felt was the pressure on his right, but his left felt everything else. The gap in sensation was a little more than he wanted to deal with at the moment, "I should be alright." James says. "It's been a long day, everything feels like it's going to split in half. Just waiting for the meds to kick in at this point." James pulls his hands apart. "I'd just rather not... talk about all of it."

Qrow raises an eyebrow, but doesn't say anything, instead just focusing on getting them to the gas station that they'd been to Friday evening. It was darker this time around, and later in the day. He figured that James would manage to walk him through the process that they needed to go through in scouting this station. "So, this gas station thing." Qrow decides to ask, giving James a much-needed change of topic. "What do we need to do exactly?"

James reaches into his glovebox, removing his notepad and flipping it forward a few pages until he found a page that he'd intentionally folded in half a week before. He flips straight to it, unfolding it, and looks over the notes. "Winter gave me her photos from the last time we came, but we should be looking at a secondary sweep of the area. I figure we want to have a good parking spot figured out, as well as the fastest route back to the warehouse. Also need to have all the cameras located." He closes the notepad. "Then we'll have to run the same process at the second station. Since it's the same chain, there shouldn't be too many differences."

As they pulled up near the gas station, Qrow looks at James. "Intricate." His eyes scan the parking lot. "Step one: parking spot."

In the passenger's seat, James shifts his position so that he could get a better view of the parking lot. "We want a spot on the side near the road if we can get one. It's the best for a fast getaway. Or we can use one of the gas pumps in the front." His eyes go to the gas meter on the car's dash. "Tonight, put us in front of one of the pumps. It'll be our cover for us being there."

"And the night of the job?" Qrow speaks up, trying to fill in a gap in James' plans.

"We'll see." James answers promptly. "It depends on how things are around here. And we can't count on what options we'll have when we actually do this thing. But general guidelines don't hurt."

"Right." Qrow parks them in front of one of the gas pumps. James climbs out of the passenger's seat. His eyes travel over to the store, then he nods, signaling to Qrow that they should go in. Qrow returns the gesture, following James into the convenience store, deciding to go the opposite direction James did once they were inside.

James' eyes scanned for the various cameras dotted the store's ceiling. There were one or two pointed directly at the counter where the cashier was, that would be an issue. In the back of the building, Qrow was pretending to look at a beer display. James got a coffee before going back and joining him.

"Got everything?"

"Yeah, I think so." Qrow answers, picking up a nuclear green colored can that James had to guess had some sort of energy drink inside. "Pay and go?"

"Yes." James answers, turning to a small display that held various medicines. Qrow watches as James pulls a packet of cough drops down from the display. The man turns, heading to the front. Qrow follows behind him, both paying before meeting at the car.

When Qrow gets there, James was filling the tank, leaning halfway against his car as he waited. Qrow steps up to James' side, slipping his hand around the handle. For a moment, his hand brushed James' gloved hand. James pulls away immediately, picking his coffee cup up from off the top of the car before getting in on the passenger's side.

Qrow joins him in the car a minute later once he was sure that the tank was topped off. "Where next?"

At his side, he hears the sound of James' notebook rustling as the man scratched down a handful of notes. James shoves the pen between the pages where he was working before flipping back two or three leaflets to the notes from Friday evening. "We're at the Crown Street location now, so we'll have to head towards Woodbound Drive and examine the location there."

Blue eyes scanned the area, and Qrow watches, trying to figure out what it was that James was looking for in that moment. There had to be something. It was then that he realized that James was looking for the worst lit route. "Left exit." James says, shortly. "Not much lighting, should be best for the getaway. We'll need to be familiar."

"Got it."

With those words, they were on the way to the second gas station, though the drive is mostly silent. Qrow bites his lower lip, brow furrowing, before he decided to say something to James to make things less awkward, though only doing so roughly ten minutes into the drive. "You saw those cameras near the counter, right?"

"I did." James answers. "It's pretty typical. There'll be safeguards against those. Have you done a robbery job like this before? They said you were new to the game."

"Not really." Qrow murmurs. "All the last jobs have been things where I've been used as a distraction or a driver or something. I haven't gotten to be in the middle of the action or anything if that's what you want to know."

"Suppose that makes sense." James shrugs, sipping his coffee and letting the heat work through his bones and pains from the day. It was relaxing. "Ozpin puts us on a lot of different jobs, probably not many robberies lately."

"I got paid to drink on one job so I didn't mind." Qrow chuckles. "Last job was at this really swanky party. High society stuff. They had me create a scene over at the bar there so that everyone else could do stuff. Breaking glasses, stuff like that. The one before that they made me drive."

James doesn't seem surprised by that, sipping at his hot coffee. "Sounds typical." He sets the coffee cup down next to him and looks out the window, taking note of the area. "Perfect." Qrow doesn't get to even look to see what James was looking at before he had a new order barked at him. "Farmer's market to the right, pull in there."

"What, why?"

"It's important. Helps us get away." James' voice is tight. "We won't be using this car when we do it, but we need a good look at the spot."

Qrow raises an eyebrow, catching James' eye as the two of them pulled into the space on the side of the road. The car rolls to a stop, and soon James was getting out, walking through the area and looking at the small lot. Qrow gets out as well, watching James the entire time. "So?"

"It's exactly what we'll need." James catches Qrow's eyes. "I'll explain on the way to the Woodbound store."

"You better, Jimmy." Qrow clambers into the driver's side. He sets his hands on the steering wheel, letting his eyes slide over to James. The man seemed to be moving less stiffly now, which was some relief. For Qrow, it meant the possibility that James would relax a little and start acting a bit less like he'd been woken up three hours before he was supposed to be.

James settles into the seat, frustration reading on his face and in his shoulders. "My name is James." He raises a hand, pushing his hair back out of his face. Qrow rolls to a a stop at a light, watching as James did his best to remove that one strand of hair from his face. "When we do the job, we'll need a chance to change plates. Places like that give us the chance to do that."

"Neat trick." Qrow sees the stray strand of hair fall back into James' face, and the way that the hair flopped back into the older man's face. He does his best to hold a smirk in at the sight of it. He had a feeling that it was one of those things that James constantly had to fight with and never saw a victory from. A constant, unending war. "So the next store, right?"

"Right." James sighs out the word. "Next store."

With that, Qrow pulls out of the small side road, heading down the road towards the second of the two gas stations so that they could finish their scouting mission.


	6. Drive

"So why do you hate being called Jimmy anyways?" Qrow's raspy voice filled the space of James' car, which was parked in a spot across the street from the second gas station, out of the shine of direct light. Qrow was leaned back in the driver's seat, hands folded behind his head as the two of them sat there, watching.

Waiting.

At Qrow's side, James' eyes were glued to the store's entrance, occassionally travelling over to the space where a police vehicle was parked. The two of them didn't know what was happening, but it had been nearly half an hour since they'd first driven by to scout the location.

It's quiet for a long minute after Qrow asked his question. Qrow closed his eyes for a moment and stretched, not expecting any sort of answer from James. To his surprise, he hears James sigh and relax into his seat, finishing off the cup of coffee that he'd picked up at the first station.

"I don't like being called Jimmy, Qrow, because Jimmy is what you call a five year old." James sounds surprisingly relaxed, despite the situation. Qrow suspected that part of it had to do with whatever medications James had taken earlier that day had fully kicked in at this point.

"Don't like being talked down to?" It isn't a question. Qrow didn't particularly like asking things that way, but he had a feeling that he wasn't going to be able to get through to James otherwise.

"Among other things." James answers with a sigh that Qrow was sure would have been a groan an hour earlier. The man reaches into his pocket and removes his phone, the same shiny new Scroll that he'd used at the park when he'd exchanged information with Taiyang. James opens it, holding it in his right hand and beginning to scroll through his contacts lazily in search of something. Qrow watches from the corner of his eye silently.

Qrow sees James close his contacts list, opening up an app and adjusting some settings before pressing a play button. It immediately started broadcasting what sounded like a police scanner. James sets the phone down at looks at Qrow. "I think we have some waiting before we can get in here. In the meantime, we can listen for when this clears up."

Sticking around with a police scanner playing was a bad idea. Even Qrow knew that.

He starts the car, sitting up straight and leaning forward so he was comfortable. "Why didn't you do that half an hour ago?"

"I figured it'd be best if we gave them a chance to deal with things on their own before listening in." James answers, talking over the sound of a dispatcher mentioning something about a noise complaint. "Didn't think we'd need the scanner. Not for what's probably a petty robbery. Some kid stealing cigarettes probably."

Qrow sighs, pressing his foot to the gas pedal and pulling out of the parking space they'd taken. "So what do we do in the meantime?"

James' eyes scan the streets, the older of the two men silently searching for something. He hears James exhale, frustration seeping out of him. "We distract ourselves." James lets his eyes flick over to Qrow. "Have you eaten today at all?"

"I had fruit loops with the girls this morning, but that was pretty much it." Qrow answers. "What about you? And why are you asking?"

"I had a bagel on my way out this morning." James looks away from Qrow, and Qrow can hear the sound of him adjusting his clothing quietly. Qrow wondered if he'd be able to look over at James and see the man fidgeting with that damn glove. Or the fact that he only wore sweaters and business wear, seemingly regardless of weather. He hears James' voice crack for a second before James righted himself. "We could get something. Chinese or pizza. Ordering and getting the food should take long enough."

Qrow thinks, listening to the sounds of the police scanner that James had tuned them into. He opens his mouth to answer, but finds himself caught off guard when he hears the sounds of someone on the scanner relaying a report of a woman with black hair being brought in. He blanches, reaches over to turn off James' phone.

To Qrow's dismay, he immediately reaches a lock screen.

James doesn't ask Qrow what the problem was. Instead, he reaches over and snatches the phone out of Qrow's hand. He unlocks it and exits out of the scanner app. The sound cuts off halfway through the name of the woman that had been arrested.

Qrow's hands tightened around the steering wheel, knowing entirely too well what the rest of that name would have come out to.

The phone clicks off with a quiet sound, and Qrow heard James tucking it away back into his clothing so that it wouldn't be an issue anymore. James opens his mouth, ready to say something before closing it again. "So, food." Qrow realizes quickly that James had decided to drop the topic and leave him some peace.

"Right." Qrow answers, perking up somewhat. "Food. I know a good bar near here-"

"Absolutely not." James says. "One of us needs to be ok to drive. And I don't think I am." James' voice sounds terribly resigned then, the man crossing his arms over his chest and adjusting how he was sitting so that he wouldn't have to face Qrow too closely.

Qrow takes a fast right into a plaza that held an assortment of shops, ranging from hair and nail salons, to shoe stores, as well as a few restaurants. "Might as well just grab something here since it's close to the store." Qrow parks, getting out before James could protest the decision. He gets out and holds the car keys up, baiting James.

James gets out, walking by Qrow and snatching the keys out of the shorter man's hand. "Chinese?"

"Sounds good. I could kill for some fried rice." Qrow says, turning and leading the way towards the restaurant. "Take-out?"

"Probably ideal." James says. "Since we're partially relying on getting to that store tonight."

Qrow nods, stepping up first and holding the door open for James. He notices that James seems to stiffen for a moment, as though Qrow had done some sort of offense by trying to help him. James reaches out, half stepping through the door and pushing it open as he stepped through. Qrow followed after him, feeling slightly puzzled about what had just happened.

They stop at the front desk, grabbing a menu and taking an empty bench so that they could decide their orders. James doesn't say much, only removing his pen from his pocket and circling what he wanted on the menu. Qrow takes the menu from James, doing the same. For a moment, Qrow pauses, thinking about whether this was what he actually wanted. His eyes stray to James, who seemed to be watching the fishtank that was against one of the walls.

He sighs, stands up, and places the order, taking care to order extra fried rice and egg rolls.

Once the order was placed, Qrow rejoined James with a paper placemat that had some sort of small maze and a map of Atlas that was horribly low detail and inaccurate. Qrow holds it up, reading it over and chuckling lightly. James doesn't question it at first, getting his phone from his pocket and opening up a crossword puzzle app to entertain himself during the wait.

"Hey, Jim." Qrow speaks up, pulling James' attention towards him for a moment with a wide grin across his face. "Can I borrow your pen?"

James looks at the menu, then back at Qrow. "You know they keep those around for children right?" He has a disinterested expression on his face, which makes Qrow smirk.

"It's not my fault you're so boring." Qrow mutters. "If you'd talk to me, then maybe I wouldn't need it."

With a low sigh, James reaches into his breast pocket, holding a silver pen out for Qrow between his pointer and middle fingers. For a moment, Qrow wonders whether James used to smoke based on the grip alone.

Qrow reaches out, taking it, and rolls the pen between his fingers. It didn't feel cheap at all. It was the sort of pen that people got as promotion gifts, or bought for their own standing. Qrow raises an eyebrow but uncaps it, beginning to do the maze on the placemat. "Still could talk to me."

To his side, Qrow hears another low sigh from James. "Alright." James looks up from his phone, directing his attention directly onto Qrow. "Tell me about your family or something."

Qrow thinks, tracing the maze on the playmat backwards. James looks over and raises an eyebrow. Qrow looks up, seeing that James was looking at him before opening his mouth and beginning to speak, hoping that he'd be able to provide some sort of distraction from the fact that he wa cheating on a maze made for children. "Ruby and Yang are good kids. I'm only really related to Yang, but that doesn't matter. I love them both." Qrow sighs. "I met Tai and Summer in college. My sister and I needed an apartment and ended up with them. Then Taiyang hit it off with... everyone but me really."

"That," James hits a button on his phone to make the screen go dark before storing it in his breast pocket. "Is rough."

"Right?" Qrow's voice raises in pitch slightly. "I spent a lot of time on couches because of them." Qrow's red eyes travel over to James, lingering on his partner's face. "But I got two neices out of them, so it worked out for the most part." In his lap, Qrow was folding over the placemat so that he could read something on it. "What about your girl?"

James sighs. "Divorce." His voice is somewhat tight when he speaks. "I met her mother when I was younger, got married straight out of university." James shakes his head, something akin to embarassment reading on his face. "She went to one of the other schools in the city, but I was military so she wanted to get married before I went on tour."

"That explains why they call you The General." The words escape Qrow's mouth before he can even think about it. His eyes flick up to James' face as the other man spoke. "So it didn't work out, then."

James shakes his head. "I came home on a medical discharge, found out that she was spending time with someone else. While we had a baby at home. I cut it off then and there."

"Common story."

"Yeah." James answers. "It is, sadly."

"What about custody?"

James sighs, expression sinking. "It's complicated." He looks up as the woman they'd ordered the food from earlier approached with an oversized brown paper bag in tow. He stands up, getting out his wallet as the woman got close. Qrow squirms in his seat, getting his own wallet so that he could help pay, only for James to pay the full bill on credit.

Qrow picks up the large paper bag, cradling it like it was a newborn. "Tell me about it in the car?"

"Yeah." James answers. "Sure."

The two walk out to the car, James taking the food from Qrow as he passed the shorter man his keys. Qrow immediately unlocks the car and climbs in while James got in on the passenger's side, shifting the food in a way so that he wouldn't end up spilling anything. Qrow is shoving the placemat into his pocket as he turns the keys, the engine growling. "So, the custody thing."

James sighs, making himself comfortable in his seat. "I used to have main custody. But because I've been... away, I lost it. I'm hoping to get it back, but there's no telling whether that's possible."

"I'm sorry." Qrow pulls out of the parking lot, driving back in the direction of the convenience store they'd been staking out earlier. He sighs, deciding to change the topic away from something so depressing. Like work. Or being criminal masterminds. "So, where do you want to eat this stuff?"

James thinks. "Back to the store, buy drinks as a cover?" It's not a suggestion. "After that, we go find somewhere to eat. Somewhere lit, preferably." He looks out the window. "And indoors."

"Sounds decent." Qrow answers, turning onto a road to get them back in the direction of the convenience store. His red eyes scan the streets as they drive, looking for faster routes back. It takes several minutes, but soon Qrow was pulling into the convenience store parking lot, which was now devoid of signs of police. "Ready?"

"Yeah." James says as he shifts the food into the back seat, setting it in a safe position so that it wouldn't get disturbed.

Together, James and Qrow get out of the car and go into the store, pushing through a freshly plywooded-over door and scanning the cieling for cameras and both taking mental notes. James had been right, the layouts weren't too different. James goes to the back of the store, getting himself a soda, while Qrow got himself a second energy drink.

They make it a quick trip.

James goes up to the front, quickly paying for his drink before going out to the car to get an idea of the parking situation. When Qrow rejoined him outside of the store, James climbed into the car immediately. "Not much of note." James says immediately as he twists his body to get the bag of food back. "Same as the other place, so this one is going to be more about the drive away than what's here."

The food settles in James' lap, while Qrow buckles his seatbelt as they began to drive around the store, scouting out how the roads were so they'd have a good idea of what their getaway would look like. James looks out the window, thinking. Qrow pulls out of the parking lot, driving towards the darkest route away from the convenience store. "Where do you want us to go?"

James shrugs. "Once we get away from the stores the night of the job, the important thing is that we'll have to make it back to the warehouse by the end of the night. Usually we'll be able to ditch the cars, blow them to high heaven, then take public transport there to meet."

"So what you're saying is...?"

"We'll have to play it by ear." James answers. He shifts slightly in his seat, holding onto the Chinese food in his lap and keeping everything from falling over. His eyes flick over to Qrow for a moment before James raises a question of his own. "How are you planning to get home tonight?'

Qrow seems to go rigid at the question, eyes glued to the road. "Uh... I'd have to call Tai and he'd come get me. Usually." Qrow reaches over to the energy drink that sat in the center console between them. "Why?"

James sighs. "Because we have food we haven't touched yet, and it's almost midnight. You probably don't want to bother Taiyang right now.." James answers. "We could go to my apartment to eat. I have a couch you could spend the night on."

Qrow blinks. Once. Twice. His mouth drops open slightly so that he can respond, then closes again. Mentally, he was running through a thousand options for what he could to say to James in response. He looks down at his hands, resting on James' steering wheel. Then over to James. "Uh..." He blinks again. "You sure you're ok with that?"

James sighs. "Yeah, I think so." His voice is tight. "I have a couch, like I said. Just don't try to make off with my silverware and I'm fine with it.'

Qrow exhales slowly. "Alright. I'll come over."

This was going to be awkward.

"Alright." James straightens up, trying to get a better view of the road. "Take the left up here."

Together, the pair made their way to James' house, Qrow driving while James gave directions until they reached a small neighborhood just outside of the main city. Qrow slowed their drive, passing by a large gate and looking around the neighborhood. It was clearly wealthy, much wealthier than Qrow had ever imagined living in.

Qrow felt like he was out of place there. He looks over at James, trying to figure the older man out for a moment before looking at the various houses that filled the neighborhood. "So, which one?" For a criminal, the neighborhood didn't fit. All the crooks here were probably investment bankers.

"Next on the right." James answers. The car slows, Qrow turning into a relatively nice home with a covered parking space. He parks, and soon James was getting out, bringing the food out with him and waiting for Qrow to join him.

The keys are handed off from Qrow to James, who leads the way to a side door, unlocking it and pushing it open for Qrow, as he balanced their dinner on his hip. Qrow steps inside.

"Shoes off at the door." James mutters behind him.

"Sure thing." Qrow kicks off his shoes there before peering down the hallway to see what sort of place James lived in. He follows James inside, to see that James was already setting down the bag of food down on a marble kitchen counter and going to a cupboard, reaching up to grab two empty plates, which he set down on the counter.

Qrow swallows, trying to piece together James' way of making money qith the house and finding himself unable to make the two parts fit. It was too nice, but it also looked like it hadn't been lived in. Or like it was cleaned nearly daily without fail. The kitchen and the living room were connected for the most part, with the marble counter that James was at being the only thing to separate the two rooms. The living room was wide, with a large couch and a glass coffee table acting as a centerpiece.

He looks over to hear the sound of the paper bag rustling and being opened. Qrow walks over to join James, who was opening the first of the containers of food before setting it down next to him. He reaches over, picking up one of the two plates. James holds up a container.

"Fried rice." James announces, and Qrow reaches out and takes the container before opening his mouth to say something. "Uh... spoon?"

James' back seems to straighten. "Silverware is in the drawer nearest the toaster." James says as he opened up each of the containers of food so that their food was closer to a buffet than just a couple of containers that were handed out haphazardly. "Could you grab... six tablespoons- the big ones? i think that should do. And forks."

"No problem." Qrow answers, popping the 'p' in problem and sliding his way over towards the counter where James' toaster was. He opens up the nearest drawer to see that it indeed held a good amount of silverware. He reaches in, picking up a handful of large spoons and two forks for himself and James. He rejoins James at the counter and sets down the silverware at James' side.

James reaches out, grabbing up the silverware before walking around the side of the counter and placing each of the spoons into a container. Once everything was able to be served, Qrow hears James sigh. "Get yourself whatever you want." James' voice sounds tired. Qrow wonders whether it was past James' bedtime or not.

The pair quietly collect their food, filling up their plates before James headed over towards the living room and sank down onto the leather couch, setting his plate out in front of him. Qrow joins him, slipping down onto the floor across from where James was sitting. He looks around, taking in everything that decorated James' home.

Above James' head was a shelf that held a lot of books, all seeming to be on different topics, ranging from wartime strategies to children's books. Qrow's mouth drops open when he sees a photo of James, holding Penny and with wide grins spread across their faces. James looked younger, the same as Penny. Qrow's eyes flicked back down to James for a moment.

He realized that in the photo, James' hair hadn't started going grey.

James seems to realize the scrutiny, standing up and leaving his food there on the table. "I'll be back in a minute." James answers, stepping into another room to change into something that was a bit more comfortable than his suit and slacks. He replaces everything with clothing he could feel more comfortable in. Loose pajama pants that couldn't betray his prosthetics, a warm sweater that was enough to make him feel like he was being hugged.

He stares down at his hand, not sure whether he was comfortable enough to remove it or not and get a better handle on his food, but hesitates, leaving it on before rejoining Qrow in the living room. Qrow looks up at him, curious expression across his face and raises an eyebrow at the realization that James had not only changed, but had left that damn glove on.

What was James trying to hide from him? Scarring? Something else? The black mark of a curse given by a sorcerer? Qrow didn't know.

"You alright there?" Qrow asks, moving his rice into a pile with his fork and watching James. "It seemed like you'd had a rough day today, Jim-"

"Don't you dare." James cuts Qrow off, expecting another nickname.

"I wasn't going to." Qrow rolls his eyes. "No trust."

James' blue eyes narrow. "You're a criminal. Why would I ever trust you?"

Qrow points a fork at James, incredulous. "That's funny." Qrow mutters. "Because I'm pretty sure it's you that has been doing this whole crime thing longer than me. If anything, I shouldn't trust you. You're a hypocrite."

James sighs, sits down and begins to eat his own food. "I'm in this out of necessity. The same is true for everyone else." James fills his fork with a piece of beef, which he dipped into the rice that was on his plate. "I know it.. probably doesn't look like it. But I need this."

For just a moment, Qrow leans back, holding himself up with his arms and watching James and letting his eyes travel around the house. He figured that he could ask what that reason was, but at this point Qrow really wasn't sure what sort of reaction he'd get out of James. In fact, he was just having trouble figuring James out in general.

On the couch, James shifts slightly. Uncomfortably. Qrow looks away politely, realizing that James seemed to dislike being looked at it general, though he couldn't figure out why. Qrow raises a fist to his mouth, coughing. "Uh, so that's where I'm sleeping tonight, right?"

The change in topic seems to trigger some relaxation in James' shoulders, the man readjusting his position so that he could look down at Qrow more directly. "Yeah, this is it." James pats the couch beside him. "I'll have to get you some blankets from the linen closet and a pillow, but it's comfortable enough."

The man on the floor finishes off his plate of chinese food, reaching into his pockets to empty out the things that he didn't want to have to deal with for the rest of the night. A keychain, complete with bottle opener attached, a phone, and the folded chinese menu from earlier that night all found their places on James' coffee table. He reaches into one final pocket in his shirt, removing a leather decorated flask from it.

Qrow gave the flask a shake, hearing only the sound of the wire that kept the cap attached hitting the side of the flask. He frowns and sets it down on the table with everything else. He doesn't even realize immediately that James was staring at him.

For a second Qrow felt like he might understand, at least a little bit.

"Uh..."

"Don't." James answers with a groan. "I don't want to hear whatever it is right now." The taller man reaches up, cradling his forehead in his gloved hand. "My one solace today is that you were sober enough to drive."

Qrow opens his mouth to retort, but by the time he did, James was up and in the kitchen, locking some sort of cabinet and pocketing the key. It doesn't take Qrow more than half a second to realize that it was a liquor cabinet.

No trust.

The smaller man groans, standing up to go to the kitchen and refill his plate with food. While he's picking up two egg rolls, he looks over to see that James was still there in the kitchen, opening up a cupboard above his coffee maker and removing a bottle or two of medication, all in the familiar pharmaceutical orange.

"Can you not?" James asks, shrinking back and turning away from Qrow's gaze. "This really isn't your-"

"I don't care." Qrow cuts James off, earning a disgusted look from James, whose eyebrows slanted and blue eyes narrowed. "I figured you use painkillers or something." Qrow shrugs, looking over at the coffee table on the other room. "I get needing medication."

"Says the alcoholic."

"I'm not-"

"Don't care." James opens up the first of the two bottles of medication, pouring a small white tablet into its cap and setting the cap down beside him as he opened up the second bottle, this time with some difficulty as his glove slid against the plastic cap of the bottle. James struggles with it for a moment, before switching his hands, eventually getting a blue tablet out, though this one looked as though it had been cut in half.

Qrow picks up his plate, heading back for the living room. "I seriously don't care, Jim. I don't think anyone would." His eyes go to the living room, roaming over it before flicking back over to James' square shoulders. "I think you're the one who cares more than anyone else." With that, Qrow turned on his heel, going back to the living room and seating himself on the floor.

He hears the sound of the faucet running in the kitchen, and James opening and closing a couple of cabinets before heading down the hallway to stop at a closet at the base of the stairs that most likely led up to where James' bedroom was, Qrow could guess. James pulls it open and reaches up easily, pulling down a set of blankets and a matching pillow, all immaculate white.

In one motion, James sets down the blankets at the end of the couch opposite of where he'd been sitting and eating. Once that was all done, James sits back down on the couch to finish off his meal. He doesn't say anything for a long moment, simply inhaling deeply and raising a hand to his eyes to rub as though he had some sort of headache setting in.

"When you're done and going to bed, Qrow-" James began to deliver instructions. "Just go to the counter there and close all of the takeout boxes, put any silverware in the dishwasher under the microwave. Trash compactor is beside it."

"Alright." Qrow says, looking up. "Anything else?"

"Try to keep it down." James hesitates a moment, trying to work through the medicative fog that was starting to fill his head. "Oh, and there's a washroom down the hall, on the right. But try not to move around too much tonight, the security system might reactivate itself automatically."

"Wait, what-"

"If it goes off, just come wake me up."

"Jim, what did you take?"

James shakes his head. "Painkiller. Sleep pill." The taller man finishes off his food, standing up and carrying the empty plate and silverware into the kitchen. Qrow gets up, following James into the kitchen and watching as James rinsed off the used dishware before placing it in the empty dishwasther that he'd already mentioned. "It's been a long day and I want it to end at this point."

"Right." Qrow answers, swallowing. "Uh, is there anything I can wear to bed or should I just wear this?" Qrow gestures to himself, and has to surpress a smirk as James' eyes seemed to wander and linger slightly.

"Oh..." James frowns. "Follow me." James turns, walking to the stairs and making his way up. On the way up, Qrow followed behind James a bit, raising an eyebrow when he hears the way that James' gait sounded against the hardwood stairs. It wasn't normal, Qrow realized. It was lopsided

Now that was interesting.

He reaches the top of the stairs to see that there were three doors on the second floor of James' home. One on each side of the hall, with a third at the end of the hallway that had its door open. The door on the left had a paper drawing posted on it, and Qrow realized a moment later that it must have been Penny's room, if the drawing was anything to go by.

He doesn't say anything. Qrow knew better than that.

On the other side, the door was open, showing a bedroom that looked like it belonged to a teenager, but everything had been stripped out of it at some poinit. He wanted to ask about it, since that was a better chance of being a guest room, but realizes a moment later that if James was going to let him use that room, it would have been mentioned earlier.

That left the room at the end of the hallway.

James pushes the door open, stepping inside the large room, that appears to be a master sized bedroom. James crossed it, opening up a dresser and removing a pair of flannel pajama pants and an old grey t-shirt. He turns to Qrow, holding them out. "It probably won't fit since you're... smaller."

Qrow steps forward, accepting the clothes from James. "It'll probably be fine." Qrow says. "Thanks, Jim."

"Mm." James grunts a response before going to his bed and seating himself, before looking back up at Qrow.

Oh, he looked good.

Qrow pushes the thought out of his mind. "Uh... see you in the morning?" He speaks, stepping towards the door so that he could go down to the couch for the night.

"Right." James answers, reaching with one hand to slide off his glove. Qrow looks away politely, stepping to the door and taking the knob in hand and pulling it closed.

Just before the door was about to close, Qrow smirks. "Goodnight Jimmy."

"Fuck off." James' voice growled from the other side of the door.

Qrow feels something electric shoot down his spine at the sound, but pushes it away, heading downstairs to polish off his food, follow James' cleanup instructions, and go to bed.

He'd deal with James in the morning.


	7. Reverse

There were no words and there were infinite words that could describe morning once it came around.

For James Ironwood, the ones that immediately came to mind were awkward, uncomfortable, and daunting. He would have rather it not have been that way, but the fact that Qrow Branwen was spread out across his couch and snoring was the main contributing factor. James liked his privacy, quite a bit. And that had multiplied somewhat after the accident.

Groggy and tired-eyed, James managed to limp his way down the stairs to the kitchen where he could make himself a cup of coffee to kickstart his morning and his daily routine that helped him hold things together, wearing nothing more than an old white t shirt and the sweat pants that he'd put on the night before. Mentally, he ran through his morning checklist, oblivious to everything else.

Coffee.

Pills.

News.

Email.

He made his way into the kitchen quietly, turning on his coffee maker and preparing a filter with a hazelnut coffee that he'd bought the week before while getting his groceries James rubbed at his eyes, feeling the way that the cool metal of his right hand soothed them before reaching up to get his medication from the cabinet. Over on the couch, he could hear Qrow roll, but didn't pay it too much mind.

Qrow was an adult, he could handle himself.

James unscrewed the lid of the bottle that held his pain medication, pouring two tabs out into his metallic hand before swallowing them dry and grimacing at the chalky flavor. With a low groan, he leaned against the counter, watching coffee drip into the pot slowly. Soon he'd be able to get his morning underway.

Eventually.

From the living room, he heard Qrow stir again, a blanket half-falling off of the thinner man's body to reveal his exposed back. For a moment, James thinks, wondering whether he'd offered Qrow a shirt or not before his eyes fell on one of his old shirts, sitting on the coffee table in his living room.

Well, that explained that.

A quiet beeping sound turned James' attention away from Qrow and back to his coffee. He absentmindedly reached up to the cupboard above the coffee maker, pulling down a pair of mugs for himself and Qrow. He didn't know if Qrow liked coffee or not, but he figured it didn't hurt to make the offer.

James pours the black liquid into one of his favorite mugs, which bore a logo that was an advertisement for motor oil that a friend had given him when he was still in the army. With that, he went into the living room and sat down on an old chair, setting his coffee down on the table beside him before clicking on the television and turning the volume most of the way down so that he could follow the news without waking up Qrow.

He crosses one leg over the other, listening quietly to the weather report for the upcoming week and picking up his mug of coffee, sipping it as he let his mind wander for a minute. James closes his eyes, tilting his head back and lets the sounds of the morning overtake him as he tried to figure out what he was supposed to do that day.

A sigh escapes his lips and he turns his head, looking over at Qrow. Messy, unorganized Qrow. Unreliable Qrow. Probable alcoholic Qrow Branwen.

For a moment, James wonders. Was he being too hard on Qrow? Or was he letting his pain and other stress build up and taking it out on Qrow? Or was Qrow legitimately just the worst?

He didn't want to discredit any of those theories. He had a feeling that the truth was probably a mixture of the three, which didn't make him feel great about the whole thing.

Over on the couch, Qrow shifted again and James snaps his head back forward.

Behind him, Qrow sat up on the couch, rubbing at a drowsy red eye and looking at the tv, then James, then back to the tv. "Weather?"

"Coffee's in the kitchen." James answers, sipping his coffee instead of answering Qrow's question. "And yeah, weather."

Qrow gets up, scratching at the hair on his chest and walking slowly towards the kitchen. James watches him out of the corner of his eye, realizing that there was next to no way that his pants were going to manage to stay on Qrow. The other man was simply too thin compared to him.

In the kitchen, James hears the sound of Qrow pouring himself a coffee. Followed closely by the sound of Qrow getting himself a plate of leftovers and putting it in the microwave.

"Thanks for the coffee." Qrow calls from the kitchen. "I think it's the nicest thing you've done for me."

James sighs. "I need coffee to be able to function in the mornings. Figured it didn't hurt to make extra."

"Do you have sugar?" Qrow calls, opening and closing two or three cabinets. "And milk?"

James gets up, figuring that he should probably get himself food as well. He walks into the kitchen, joining Qrow and reaching out for a black ceramic container with a silver latch. "Milk is in the fridge." James mumbles as he gets himself a plate of food, spooning rice and some chicken onto a clean dish.

The latch of the black jar comes open, and at James' side Qrow began spooning an absurd amount of sugar into his coffee, followed by the open and close of the fridge. Qrow prepares his coffee, leaning against the counter behind him with a Beacon Institute mug in his hand.

He didn't even realize for a moment that Qrow was staring at him.

When the realization hit James stiffened, trying to manuever his way out of the kitchen without showing too much of his right side. Why had he chosen to wear a t-shirt to bed that night? Why did sweaters have to be so warm?

"Sorry, I can-" James doesn't even think about what he was saying before he disappeared out of the kitchen, heart pounding in his chest, somehow the only thing that he was able to hear. He didn't like that he'd just mistepped that way, not at all. James took the stairs up to his bedroom, trying to hide the unevenness of his steps from Qrow on the way up.

He reaches the bedroom and closes the door carefully before sliding down against the wall, seating himself on the floor to try and calm himself down. James knew, deep down, that Qrow wasn't the worst person out there. He wasn't the worst person that could have seen his arm, but he was sure that Qrow was probably going to be speculating on more than just that.

Why did this have to happen?

How could he have been so stupid?

James gets up, crossing the room to put on a pair of jeans and a sweater that was just thick enough to hide everything. Just as he was about to put the glove on to hide away everything completely for the day, he heard Qrow's voice on the other side of the door.

"Jim?"

He could smell over-sweetened coffee on the other side of the door.

He doesn't say anything.

Qrow's voice appears again. "I'm not going to tell anyone, if that's what you're worried about." It sounded like Qrow was leaning against the wall. James looks between the glove and the door, and sighs, slipping the glove back on over his metal hand, pulling and tugging in certain places so that it would fit properly.

Qrow's voice again. "Jim, talk to me." There was a quiet thump that James couldn't quite identify. "Please."

James goes to the door, hesitates. Speaks instead of reaching for the handle. "I don't want to."

A sigh. "You're going to have to talk to someone about it eventually, you know that, right?"

Qrow was right. Qrow was a lot of things, James reminded himself, but probably the last thing that he would have wanted Qrow to be able to be was right. "I know."

"Come out and drink your coffee, Jim. I'm not going to force you to talk. But this isn't healthy." Silence for a moment. "I would know."

James squeezes his eyes shut.

Recomposes himself.

Schools his features.

Breathes in.

Exhales.

Hesitates.

James turned to the door, reaching out to open it with a gloved hand and sighing. He couldn't smell Qrow's coffee on the other side anymore, and it sounded like he was alone now. He was grateful for that. With a turn of the knob, the door came open, James coming out and dressed like he could be ready to take on the world.

He wasn't.

He walks down the stairs, trying his best to hide any differences in his gait from Qrow. The fact that the smaller man knew about the arm was more than enough for James. He didn't need Qrow knowing anything else about what his body was like after the incident.

Downstairs, Qrow was sitting on the couch, cross-legged with his plate of leftovers in his lap. The TV no longer played news and weather reports, those having been replaced by some sort of brightly colored cartoon. On the coffee table, sat a second plate of food beside the mug of coffee that James had gotten for himself. Apparently Qrow had taken the time to get James' things out into the living room instead of leaving it in the microwave to go cold.

James steps into the living room awkwardly, and seats himself. He reaches over to the small stand that held his normal phone and unplugs it, going to check his messages and his email because at least it was a way for him to avoid talking to Qrow about what had just happened. As he began scrolling through his messages on his phone, James reached over with his right hand to get his mug of coffee. He idly sips from it, concentrated on the text displayed on the screen in his hand.

"What's the agenda look like for the day, General?" Qrow's voice comes from the couch, as raspy and sleep-laden as it ever was. Qrow leans forward slightly, still shirtless and watches as James sets his mug down with a low sigh. "Because I imagine Roman and all of them probably want to have a status meeting or something."

"I haven't heard anything from him." James answers, voice tight. He was glad for the change in topic, but it wasn't necessarily enough. It didn't shake away the feeling that Qrow probably thought he was a freak because of how he looked. Deep down, James knew that there was probably nothing that could shake that feeling. "If we don't hear anything from them by one I'll drive you back to Vale. I'm sure your nieces miss you."

Qrow opens his mouth to say something, but decides not to. "Thanks for the offer." Qrow mumbles the words into his overly sugared coffee. "I'm pretty sure Tai is working today anyways, so I could use the drive." He piles a bit of his rice up on his plate with his fork, content. "...Are you sure you're ok with driving me all the way out to Vale?"

There's silence from James. Qrow hears the sound of James clicking his phone off and setting it back down on the small table beside his chair with a sigh. In his chair, James looked down as his mug of coffee, and the gloved hand that held it. "I don't mind." James mumbles the words. "You need to get back home sometime anyways, and I'd like my apartment back to myself sometime."

"Right." Qrow stares into the depths of his coffee for a moment, pensive. After a minute he sets the plate of leftovers down on the table and grabs his mug of coffee. "This needs whiskey."

"No." James' voice is hard. "I'd rather deal with you sober."

"Why?" Qrow laughs the word out. "Do you like me better this way or something?"

The chair that James was in creaked, and Qrow wondered for a moment what the man's face looked like right now. He had a feeling that James wasn't going to look at him directly, which he was ok with. He had the feeling that James probably wasn't comfortable with him around anymore. Qrow knew James' little secret after all. "You're somewhat bearable when you're sober."

"Oh." Qrow chuckles. "So that's how it is."

"Qrow-"

"Oh shush, Jimmy."

"It's James."

Qrow waves James' complaint away. "I get it. You don't want to deal with me because I know what's under that glove of yours." He sips his coffee, drinking in its warmth. "I don't see the big deal, but clearly you have a complex about the whole thing that you aren't going to be shaking anytime soon." He goes quiet for a moment, thinking of the best way to follow up on that statement. "...You know the others are going to find out about it eventually, right?"

"...I'd rather they not know." James' voice is quiet. "It's not any of their business what my body is like."

"Jim." Qrow stands up, stepping into a position so that he could look at James directly. "What happened."

"Ask them." James nearly snaps at Qrow. "They'll be able to tell you."

Qrow's eyes narrow and he zeroes in on James. "What do you mean?"

James is silent for a moment. His mouth opens for him to speak, but he soon closes it again, not sure how he was supposed to explain the truth. But he knew that he would have to do that eventually, whether he liked it or not. "There are a lot of things that happened that I don't... I blacked out for most of it, alright?"

"Oh." Qrow's voice softens. "That makes sense." For a moment, the red eyed man closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose. "Look, I just don't see how you're living like this, Jim."

James sighs, picking up the plate of food that was on the table next to the chair and eating it, bit by bit. He wasn't sure that he was hungry anymore, and whether that was a result of his exhaustion or a result of nerves wasn't so easy for him to tell. He closes his eyes, trying to block out his feelings before he speaks up. "You should get dressed soon. Day ahead of us and all of that."

"Why?" Qrow asks, crossing his legs and stirring his coffee. "If you don't hear from Roman by one you're just driving me back to Vale, right? Why do I need to get dressed?"

"My pants, my rules." James answers, his voice hard. "And-"

"You've said enough already." Qrow laughs, standing up and getting his clothes. "I'll go get out of your pants, alright big guy?"

"Don't."

James can hear the sound of Qrow's laughter down the hall. Frustration made his face burn, but he pushed the feeling back and instead ate what little he could for the morning. James managed to make his way through the plate before going into the kitchen to clean up the emptied out containers and dispose of any trash. He took his time, going through the paces and making sure that his kitchen was spotless. It was a nice break, it gave him a chance to pay attention to something other than the fact that there were several parts of him that screamed to put Qrow through a wall.

It's several minutes, but soon Qrow was coming into the kitchen, fully dressed. James sighs, hearing Qrow climbing into one of the tall chairs on the other side of the median counter. "Hear anything from Roman?"

"No." James mutters as he puts a plate into the dishwasher with his left hand, careful not to touch anything that was dirty with his right hand since he didn't know whether he had another clean glove upstairs or not. "What did you do with my clothes?"

"I put it all in the hamper in the bathroom." The man's voice goes quiet for a moment, like he was trying to figure out whether he'd done something wrong or not. "I figured that was what I should do."

James blinks. Once. Twice. His blue eyes flick between Qrow and the dishes that he was doing for a moment before James managed to speak up again. "Yeah, you're fine."

"I think that's the first time you've ever said that to me." Qrow laughs. "I'll treasure that."

James chuckles lowly, though he isn't sure why. "Right." He straightens up, closing the dishwasher beside him and slips the glove off so that he could at least wash his hands of anything that had gotten on them.

Slowly, James shifts his body so that he put most of his back between Qrow's view of his hand and the sink. He runs the water, squirting a bit of dish soap into his left hand and beginning to wash them carefully. Once he was done, James began toweling off his hands, his left drying first and then beginning to work into the grooves of his prosthetic hand so that they wouldn't rust or be more uncomfortable. After a minute of drying, James turned back to Qrow, sliding his glove back into place.

He could feel Qrow's eyes on him as he adjusted the glove on his hand.

"Does it rust?"

"No." James mumbles. "I don't think it-... I don't know." His voice is resigned.

"Got it." Qrow mumbles, standing up straight and stretching. He leans forward, stretching over James' counter and watching James. "So, should we start going back to Vale soon or..."

James sighs. Thinks. He blinks a few times before looking up and catching Qrow's eyes. "Yeah, probably." James stands up straight, walking to the living room and getting his keys and his phones. From the high chair at the kitchen counter, Qrow is able to watch everything that James did, as the man flicked through emails and checked that he hadn't heard anything from Roman, Junior, Glynda, or Winter. During this, James doesn't stay in one place, instead deciding to pace about and try to figure out what he was doing.

After a long moment, James pocketed the phones, getting his keys from the bowl where he'd put them the night before. The man fixed his hair quickly, using only his reflection in the mirror before standing upright, back rod-straight and looking over at Qrow with a sigh. "Get your things, Qrow. We'll head out in a few minutes."

"Right." Qrow hops down from the high chair and crosses the room, going to the coffee table and beginning to shove his things back into his pockets like they had been the night before when he got home. He pauses on the last of the things that were on the table, finding the paper placemat that he'd been using as a distraction the night before. "Hey, Jim, I'm curious."

The room goes silent for a moment. James looks over his shoulder to see Qrow. "Do I want to know?"

Qrow waves the placemat, drawing James' eyes to it. There was an expression across Qrow's face that could only be described as mischievous, and it left James feeling deeply unsure whether he wanted to know what it was that Qrow was getting his attention from. "I mean... you might, Jim."

James turns to face Qrow and steps up to the shorter man's side. He reaches up, pushing his hair back out of his face with a single gloved hand. He could feel that he was nothing but tension, pent up like a wire ready to snap. "Fine, Qrow. What is it, and is it important?"

Qrow holds the placemat out in front of him, looking somewhat triumphant as he looked over the text on it. "I want to make this partnership work. I know you don't like me or whatever, but you're the one always saying that we have to get along out in the field. So we're going to get to know each other, Jimmy."

"Firstly, it's James." James' blue eyes hold a bored expression, James moving about the living room and picking up the few things that he figured he'd need for the day that weren't his phone. He walked into the kitchen, going to the cabinet there and pulling down a bottle of weak painkillers, emptying four tabs into a plastic bag that he'd just leave in the car for the duration of the day in all likelihood. "And how do you propose to do that, Qrow?"

Qrow blinks, looking at the placemat, then back to Qrow. "I was thinking you and I do a back and forth. I ask you a question, you answer, and vice versa. How's that sound?"

With a pinch of his fingers against plastic, James sealed the bag of medicine, setting it down and reaching up to his cabinet so that he could get a bottle of water down. Qrow watched as James went to the fridge, filling the wide opening of the bottle with ice before filling it up with chilled water from a dispenser on the side of the fridge. He was reluctant to answer Qrow, since he wasn't sure exactly what sorts of questions Qrow was going to be asking him, but he figured that it probably wasn't too hard. "I reserve the right to not answer questions that I consider to be invasive."

"Deal." Qrow answers, looking back down at the placemat that he'd taken from the restaurant the night before. "What's your zodiac."

"Is this a roundabout way of asking how old I am, Qrow?" James' eyebrow raises and he leans against the back counter of his kitchen, eyes on Qrow. "I'm thirty-five. You should be able to do the math yourself."

"No shit, really?" Qrow's eyes widened as he looked over the placemat, bringing his finger up two from it's starting position. "I thought you were older."

A low groan of frustration leaves James' lips. "It's the grey hair, isn't it?"

"I mean, I didn't want to say it." Qrow chuckles. "But yeah, it is. So that makes you an Ox person." Qrow's red eyes narrow, moving between James and the piece of paper that he was holding onto in front of him. "Ox fits you. Surprisingly well." Qrow doesn't need to look up to know that James was rolling his eyes at the comment. "You're stubborn and all."

"What are you then, Qrow?"

"Dragon." Qrow says with a wide grin. "Me, Tai, and Summer. We're all 32."

"Funny." James deadpans. "I thought you were older."

Qrow goes to the trashcan, disposing of the placemat so that he didn't have to worry about it later on in the day. "Yeah, yeah. Your turn, Jimmy."

"Don't." James nearly snaps at Qrow for the use of the nickname. "Why do you live with your brother in law?"

"Bad with money." Qrow shrugs, looking away from James. It left James feeling like there was the possibility that Qrow was lying to him, but he didn't want to question it too much. Some people just weren't good at handling their finances. And Qrow definitely fit the profile for the type. "My turn. Any family?"

"Only Penny." James answers with a shrug as he walked towards the apartment door, ready to go out to the car so that they could begin the drive out to Vale. "She's the only family that matters at least." James knows that his voice had probably softened some at that, but that's just what talking about Penny did to him. She was the light of his world, after all. He shakes his head, trying to shake the feeling and get to a good question to ask Qrow, but only fell on one solution. "What about you?"

Qrow sighs, scratching at the beard that covered his chin. "Tai and Summer, the girls. I've got a sister but I don't hear from her much." The shorter of the two men kept his eyes away from James, like he was afraid that he would end up on the receiving end of the scrutiny for once.

James doesn't move to say anything. He doesn't want to. "I'm sorry." He doesn't know what he's apologizing for.

"Thanks." Qrow straightens up slightly, and James can hear the sound of him fidgeting with that flask he'd had the night before. "How'd you end up working for the Wizard?"

Now that was an interesting question, James thought to himself. He figured there were a lot of ways that he could technically answer, but decided quickly on one. "Glynda found me." James mutters. "They wanted someone with certain technical know-how, and I was ex-military and fit the bill. Started working with them not long after." James' jaw clenches, and he turns his eyes on Qrow as the two reached the car, opening up the driver's side door and climbing in. "And what about you, Qrow?"

"You know the reason, Jim." Qrow shrugs. "I mean, kind of."

"So?"

Qrow climbs into the passenger's seat, closing the door behind him and making himself comfortable, adjusting the seat settings once again to make himself comfortable. "I uh... I dunno. I guess they just wanted someone since there was a gap in the team." Qrow shrugs. "I don't really know how they found me, other than that I knew Junior beforehand. I wouldn't be surprised if he suggested me to fill in the gaps. I think he just knew I was down on my luck."

"That sounds like Junior." James mumbles. "He cares about everyone. Even when it's detrimental."

"Yeah." Qrow mumbles. "But that's basically it. I wasn't the most... interesting recruitment. In fact-" Qrow shifts in his seat, making a point to make eye contact with James. "I'm pretty sure the most interesting part of my recruitment, is what you won't tell me, Jimbo."

"My name is James."

"I know." Qrow chuckles. "I just like messing with you."

James rolls his eyes, the pair rolling out of James' small driveway, and James beginning the drive to Vale, with Qrow and him shooting back and forth questions all the while. Mundane things. Where they grew up, favorite colors, last meals of choice. Once they hit the highway, Qrow drifted off to sleep.

James didn't bother him again until they were entering Vale's city limits. Groggily, Qrow managed to guide him through the city for a dropoff at Taiyang's house.

There's an awkward silence as Qrow got out of the car. James hesitates, looking for the right words to say, but when he was unable to find them, he pulled his eyes away. "I suppose I'll be seeing you soon."

"Right." Qrow answers, deciding to try and lighten the mood between them. "You won't be one of the guys that don't call back, right Jim?"

"Goodbye Qrow."

With that, James took off, back to Atlas so that he could get something productive done that day and try to relax slightly after that morning's debacle. The next time James would see Qrow, he figured it would probably be the last meeting before the job went down. Which at least meant some peace and quiet for him.

Hopefully.


	8. Contact

Sunrise.

Sunset.

Sunrise.

Sunset.

Repeat.

Days came and went, and for an entire week, Qrow didn't hear a word from James, or from anyone else involved.

His partner probably just didn't want anything to do with him after that morning that he'd seen James' arm. Somehow, Qrow could actually understand that. James came off as being fiercely protective of his privacy. Qrow couldn't blame him for it.

However, a text that was sent sometime around four in the morning from Roman Torchwick of all people left Qrow feeling vastly lost as to what he was supposed to do, or how he was supposed to deal with James when the other man was being so cagey with him

Qrow stared at his second phone over the bowl of Ruby and Yang's cereal that he'd poured for himself that morning so that he at least had something in his system before he started doing anything that day. It was early. Much earlier than anyone else would have been awake, and for that Qrow was grateful. He liked his privacy, though he wasn't as protective of it as James was. However, the fact remained that he didn't get much time to himself.

It was simply an unfortunate side effect of living on a couch.

Idly, Qrow stirred his fruit loops and set down his phone. He was going to have to make it to Vale for that evening, though he wasn't quite sure what it was that Roman was calling a meeting for other than the fact that their employer seemed to spring jobs on them either randomly or without any warning.

That wasn't to say that Qrow minded that much though. It was work that paid well and kept things interesting.

Junior had told him once that a good job could pay fantastically well, though Qrow wasn't sure if he'd seen a good job by the group's standards yet. He just hoped that the payout from this next job would be enough to get him off of Taiyang and Summer's couch and into his own place. Preferably one that he didn't have to pay rent on or have to worry about being evicted from.  
Now that would be nice.

On the table, he just stared at the two cell phones. One of which was nicer, the one that he showed his family and used for his day to day. The one that the legitimate world got to see. Beside it, was the beaten burner phone that he'd gotten and was sure he'd have to get rid of sooner than later. The phone that connected him to work, his partner, his living.

One of the phones buzzed to life. Drowsily, Qrow looked between the two of them before reaching out and picking up the one that had buzzed. It was his regular phone, with its red metal and clean screen. He holds it up in his view, tapping on the message that had just come in and quickly unlocking the phone by typing in a quick pin code that someone in the know would be able to recognize as Yang's birthday.

He reads the message over about seven times, hoping that he'd be able to properly process what it was trying to say but not wanting to put the pieces together.

On Monday night, James Ironwood and Qrow Branwen had listened to a police scanner.

There'd been something about it that had felt fundamentally wrong about it to him.

This text was putting all of the pieces together in a way that made Qrow feel sick.

He didn't have to check whether this new text was coming from a familiar number when he already knew who it was. Over and over, Qrow reread the message, trying to make plans for that evening so that he would be on time for the meeting and also get to attend to his new commitment.

It wasn't a commitment.

Not really.

Meeting Raven for anything was never a commitment.

But he couldn't turn down his sister. Not before, not now, not ever.

'Dinner at Merin's?' It said. 'I want to talk to you.'

Qrow knew the translation, he knew that this was Raven's code for saying that she was in trouble and needed help. He couldn't turn her down.

With a low sigh, Qrow looks to the hallway where he knew Taiyang, Summer, and the girls were all sleeping safe and sound in their bedrooms. He hated keeping secrets from them, they were his family. But he couldn't break their hearts by letting them find out that he was in contact with Raven. Taiyang didn't deserve it. Summer surely didn't. Ruby never really got to know Raven. But Yang?

Yang deserved that heartbreak the least of all.

Slowly, Qrow typed a two word response. 'What time?' He presses send, hesitates. Follows up. 'Busy later tonight.'

Qrow sets the phone down on his leg, focusing on his bowl of cereal again as he waited for a response from Raven to make his plans come together. He'd have to make it into Atlas without Taiyang and Summer finding out, and he'd have to make it to Roman's that night and try not to frustrate James too much before they did whatever they had to do that night.

Whatever that ended up being.

Fat chance, Qrow thinks to himself. James seemed like he was only able to stand him when he was hopped up on painkillers. That didn't make the situation any more comfortable from his end.

It's nearly ten minutes, but soon Qrow hears from Raven again.

It's a one word answer. To the point and direct. Just like Raven.

'Lunch?'

The phone is shoved into Qrow's pocket and he stands up, walking away from the coffee table and couch that were supposed to be the stand ins for his living space at the moment and heading into the kitchen to pour himself some more cereal to soak up the rest of the milk that he'd used in his first bowl.

Qrow finds himself emptying the remaining cereal into his bowl and makes a mental note that he'd owe the girls sometime for this. He shouldn't have eaten all of their cereal, but on the other hand, he felt like he needed something to get him past his ever-present hangover.

Before making off with his breakfast, Qrow stops at the fridge to look at the small dry-erase board that he, Taiyang, and Summer used to keep track of what needed to be done around the house. In sloppy handwriting, Qrow scribbled a note down for them. It was short, simple, and to the point.

Just like Raven.

And it mentioned that he was probably going to be away for the night and possibly the weekend.  
That was nice.

Qrow steps away from the whiteboard and back into the living room where he set down his bowl of cereal and picked up the phone that he'd left there to send Raven a 'yes' as a response to the question of lunch. He closes out the messages with Raven to check the time, seeing that it was only nine in the morning, and since Qrow wanted to be in Atlas sooner than later without alerting Taiyang or Summer as to what he was doing, that didn't leave him many options.

He could call James and hope for the best, he supposed. Or he could call Roman or Junior and hope that the two hadn't planned a day out with their daughters or something. Glynda and Winter weren't really options.

The contact list on his phone presented few options, and with some hesitation, Qrow pressed his thumb to Roman's name and listened as the phone rang, seemingly endlessly. He had a feeling that it was a sign that Roman was still asleep, and moved on, hanging up as Roman's voicemail came up.

He moved on to Junior's name, and pauses as he thought about whether calling Junior immediately after calling Roman was a good idea or not. If Roman was still asleep, there was a strong chance that Junior was also still asleep, especially considering the fact that Qrow knew for a fact that Junior spent most nights at his bar.

Besides, the two of them had kids. They probably didn't sleep well enough as is.

It's several minutes of deliberation, but Qrow only finds that he doesn't have it in him to bother Junior. That left James.

Of course it left James. To Qrow, it almost felt like some sort of cosmic joke where he was the punchline. James was probably the last person alive that would want to drive out to Vale then back to Atlas just so that Qrow could have lunch. With a groan, Qrow tilted his head back against the wall above his spot on the couch.

He'd call after breakfast and hope that James was in a good mood. He knew that was wishful thinking at best, but he had the feeling that James would at least be awake. James liked his schedules, after all.

Qrow sets his phone down under his leg out of view just in case someone ended up walking in on him and finished his breakfast, polishing off the bowl of cereal and drinking down the remaining sugary milk. In the other room, he could hear the sound of Taiyang moving around, and he made the choice to quickly text James' contact information to his regular phone so that he could hide away the burner phone from everyone else.

He hears the buzz on his regular phone and tosses his spare phone into his duffel bag.

Qrow quickly dials James' number, listening to the ringing on the other side as he waited for James to pick up. The phone rang twice before James picked up.

"Ironwood."

"Do you always answer the phone like that Jimmy?"

"Qrow?" James' voice was gravelly, like he hadn't had his morning coffee yet. "Why are you calling me on this phone?"

"I'll explain later." Qrow answers. He shifts slightly where he was sitting, peering down the hallway to check that nobody had left their bedrooms yet that morning. "Jim, could you come get me for... work? I got called into the office for noon and I don't want to bother Tai and Summer with it."

He sincerely hoped that James would pick up on his use of their code from the playground.

On the other end of the line, Qrow could hear the sound of James sigh and grumble something. He could also hear the sound of paper rustling around as James looked at something. It's close to a minute before James answered. "I'll come get you, but you're explaining yourself the second you get into my car, understand?"

"Got it." Qrow answers. "Thanks Jim. Any idea how long it'll be?"

"I'll be there at eleven." James mumbles. "Be ready to go before I get there."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be ready" Qrow looks down the hall to see that Taiyang had gotten up and was scratching at his chest as he stepped into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. "I've gotta go, Jim. I'll see you later."

"Right." James mumbles. "Eleven, Qrow. Be ready." With that, the phone line went dead, leaving Qrow to hang up and join Taiyang in the kitchen.

When he stepped in, Taiyang was putting a bagel into the family's toaster, smiling and humming something happily. The blonde noticed Qrow's presence immediately, turning to face Qrow. "Morning." Taiyang says as he closes the toaster oven and leaned against the counter to look at Qrow. "What was that all about?"

"Work." Qrow answers. "I got called in."

"Sucks." Taiyang's blue eyes glinted and slid shut, him humming happily. "Will we see you tonight? Or are you going to be missing on us all weekend again?"

"That was one time!" Qrow's voice raises in indignance. "And I don't know. It depends."

"Right." Taiyang turns, watching his bagel brown and smiles softly. He seemed content enough, Qrow thought. "You should go get ready. If you have work, you don't want to keep your ride waiting."

Qrow smiles. Good, oblivious Taiyang. "Yeah, I'll do that."

With that, Qrow left to get himself ready for the day, leaving Taiyang to his bagels.

It was two hours before he got the message from James saying that he was almost there. Qrow detached himself from under Ruby and Yang, who had decided that they wanted him to watch cartoons with them while Taiyang made lunch on the grill outside.

The sound of a car's horn beeping was his cue to leave. Qrow said his goodbyes and went outside, to see James' sedan parked alongside the family's van. Inside, Qrow could see James sitting with his head leaned against that damned gloved hand and probably checking his email.

Classic James.

Qrow walked up to the side of the car and tried to open it, only to find that the door was locked. He knocked gently on the window, alerting James to his presence. Inside, James sat upright, putting his phone away and pressing a button on the side console to unlock the door and let Qrow inside.

In one motion, Qrow slipped in, able to see the sight of Summer watching him from the kitchen window. He raises a hand to wave goodbye to her before looking over at James, who was putting the car in reverse and turning so that he could back out of the space safely. "Hey Jimmy."

"It's James." James gets them into the road before relaxing a bit and facing forward again. "What's this all about, Qrow?"

Deep down, Qrow knew that he should have expected the question immediately. James had even said that it would be the first order of business upon getting into the car. Qrow crosses his arms, and reaches down to adjust his seat again before realizing that it hadn't been set back to how James liked it since Tuesday morning. "I...uh... my sister wanted to see me."

James raises an eyebrow. "And why exactly did you need me to get you?"

Qrow gets a sinking feeling in his stomach at the question. "I... I didn't want them to know I was going to see her." He looks away from James, knowing that he was probably being judged heavily for this, but he couldn't exactly blame James for it. "She's a... sore topic with the family."

To Qrow's surprise, James only nods, seeming to soften some. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I get... messy families."

Qrow was sure that James would be frowning if he looked over at the man.

Qrow shrugs. "Doesn't bother me. And you haven't seen anything as far as messy goes." He looks over at James, who he saw was getting ready to say something, and decides to keep talking. "I'm serious Jim. Even with your whole divorce thing, it doesn't touch the Xiao Long-Branwen-Roses."

"You're going to need to explain this for me." James deadpans. "Because I'm already lost."

"I told you." Qrow laughs. He brings his hands up in front of him, trying to find the best way that he could explain the whole situation. "So... Raven and I are twins. We grew up together, and we decided to stay together once we could move out. Raven was doing college, I was working. We decided to move into an apartment, and that's how we met Summer and Taiyang."

Qrow shakes his head, smiling fondly as he thought back to when times were simple and easy. "Somehow, Raven, Summer, and Tai all started dating each other. They finished school, and moved in together. At some point, Raven got pregnant with Yang." Qrow frowns, feeling like some sort of weight was settling on his chest. "I don't know what happened. She seemed happy and ready but once Yang was born she just... changed. And then she ran. Left Tai and Summer to pick up the pieces."

"Is she..?" James doesn't finish the question. He doesn't have to for Qrow to know exactly what he was asking.

Qrow shrugs. "I don't know if she's ok, Jim. She doesn't talk much about how she's doing. I think she's afraid to face everyone after all of that."

"So you needed me here because you didn't want to risk them finding out you're meeting with your sister."

"Yes."

"Alright." James' voice was surprisingly gentle. "Where did she want to meet you?"

"Merin's." Qrow answers. "It's this lunch place in Atlas."

"I know it." James says the words, turning onto a main road. "I"ll get you there."

"You're taking this surprisingly well." Qrow comments, looking over to James, who was focused on the road ahead of him. "I expected you to get angry at me for calling me out here for personal business."

"I'm not... heartless, Qrow." James' voice sounds heavy, like all at once all of his confidence had drained from him. Almost like he didn't actually believe what he'd just said.

Qrow's eyes narrow slightly, but he relaxes a moment. "It doesn't matter, Jim. I'm just surprised is all."

"Right."

In his seat, Qrow fidgets in an attempt to make himself a bit more comfortable. "Either way. Thank you, James. It... it means a lot." He looks out the window, taking in the sight of trees passing by as they pulled onto the highway that would bring them back towards Atlas. Once in a while, Qrow would look over at James, who was focused on the road in an almost unbreaktable stare.

He had the feeling that James wouldn't even notice him unless he said something to break James' concentration away from the road. To pass the time, Qrow got his phone out of his pocket and began properly adding James' number to his contacts. For a moment, Qrow pauses. "Hey, James."

"What is it?" James' voice was tight.

"Did you hear from Roman earlier?" Qrow tries to meet James' eyes but doesn't elicit any response from James. No eye contact. That was for the better. "I think he messaged me last night."

James nods, swallowing as he pulled into another lane on the highway. "Glynda contacted me this morning." It was a controlled response, the kind that said next to nothing and answered none of Qrow's questions. Qrow figured that he probably shouldn't have been surprised by that.

This was James, after all.

He drinks in the sight of James' eyes, flicking to the barrier to the side of the car once in a while. Qrow almost wanted to float away in the blue, but pushed the thought back. Shifting in his seat, Qrow looked back out the window to watch the scenery. "Any idea why they wanted a meeting?"

"They want to do the job on Sunday." James answers. "Which makes this our last big... meeting before it happens." At his side, he can hear the metal and plastic something stressing and bending.

Oh.

Out of the corner of his eye, he can see James gripping the wheel with what would probably be a white-knuckled grip on both hands. For a moment, James' eyes flick over to him and Qrow sees James detach that gloved hand from the wheel and move it down to the shift at his side.

So James was nervous.

He wasn't sure whether he'd expected that or not.

Qrow wondered whether he would be able to handle that issue as he crossed one leg over the other. "Roman didn't mention that." Qrow mumbles the words. "Maybe he figured someone else would tell me."

James nods. "Probably." He exhales slowly. "I can come get you before the meeting tonight just... text me or something and I can be there."

"I'll be sure to do that." Qrow smiles over at James, wondering whether he was going to get the other man to relax at all. For a moment, James' blue eyes met his, and Qrow could see everything in those pools of blue. It was like every ounce of James was screaming one emotion overall.

Fear.

The eyes flick back away to the road as the two pulled into Atlas. Qrow exhales. "What are you going to be doing in the meantime, Jim?" It was a change of topic to some degree, but he had a feeling that James wasn't going to be talking about himself much right now. It just wasn't how James was.

"Printing off documents." James answers. "Getting everything ready. Buying new gloves."

"Don't you own enough gloves already?"

"Not that I wear at the same time." James deadpans.

Qrow breathes out. "I guess I'll have to do all that stuff when I get back to Vale, huh."

"Probably." James stares ahead at the road. "I'll get you Saturday night so that you're on time for Sunday." James was drumming on his stick shift with one hand.

"Thanks." Qrow sits upright, flipping down the visor in front of his seat and sees a slip of paper fall from it. He picks it up, seeing that it was some sort of handwritten note but bothers not to read it. Instead, he opens up the tiny mirror on the visor to begin fixing his hair so that he could look presentable for his meeting with Raven. She wouldn't care how he looked, but he would.

Out of the corner of his eye, Qrow is able to see the restaurant rolling into view. He tucks the note back up in the visor and closes it, unbuckling his seatbelt and for a moment Qrow was sure that he could hear James flinch at the sound. The two meet eyes, and Qrow angles himself so that he could get out of the car immediately to go in and see Raven.

"Hey, so Jim, I'll see you later, right?"

"Yeah." James answers as he rolled to a stop in the parking lot. "Just call me. Or text me. I'll come get you once you're done."

"Right." Qrow opens the door, getting out the car and looking back to see James, who was gripping the steering wheel tightly. James' face was tight, a clear sign of his wracked nerves. There's a moment between them where they're both silent. Qrow looks between the restaurant and James, then back again. His eyes fell on James one more time. "You're going to be alright, right?"

James opens his mouth to speak, still staring forward. Qrow sees his expression sink, the way that James' eyes concentrated on his hands on the steering wheel in front of him. "I think so." James mumbles the words, sounding as though he'd been defeated somehow. "Just... enjoy your lunch, Qrow. I'll be in the city doing some work. I'll get you to the meeting tonight on time, just-"

"You're rambling, Jim." Qrow cuts in, breaking James' train of thoughts. "I'll talk to you later."

"Right."

The car door slammed shut, and soon James was off, leaving Qrow to face Raven alone. Qrow looked back at the road and shoved his hands deep into his pockets before heading inside, pushing the front door to the restaurant open nonchalantly.


	9. The Patsy

The restaurant seemed to stretch on forever, it's distance immeasurable as Qrow searched for the first sign of his sister there. Sure enough she was in the back, tucked away in a booth that sat accompanied by a replica of an old statue that Qrow was sure he'd seen when he was younger.

He'd come to this restaurant with Raven before, and she always chose the same booth. Qrow didn't mind. It made things easier on him.

Raven's back was turned away from him. Her thick black hair was down, falling over her shoulders in long waves and curls that reminded him all too much of Yang. She probably didn't even know that she was there. Qrow straightened up, walking towards the back of the restaurant and sliding into the booth across from Raven.

The first thing that he realized was that she looked as though she had aged years past him despite being mere minutes older than he was. Raven's eyes were surrounded by dark which Qrow couldn't immediately identify as bruises or the result of a lack of sleep.

He had a bad feeling that he knew what the answer to that question was.

Qrow pushes the thought back, not wanting the meeting to be painful for them. It was entirely too rare that he got to spend time with Raven after all. He didn't want to spoil that on heartbreak. Raven didn't deserve that. She never did.

"Hey." Her voice was buttery smooth, as controlled as the last time that Qrow had seen her. As controlled as it had always been. "Good to see you baby brother."

"Hi, Ray." Qrow mumbles the words, shooting a weak smile across the table to his sister. He sits upright, reaching over to the small display that held a few menus. He looks across the table at Raven, raising an eyebrow to silently ask her what she wanted.

Raven nods, instinctively knowing what Qrow was asking. She opens her mouth, sitting upright and pushing her wild black hair back over her shoulder and out of the way. "I was thinking we get a pizza." Her eyes meet Qrow's. "Same thing as always."

Qrow folds the menu closed, sliding it into the menu stand again so that it was out of the way. "I'll go order." He slides out of the booth, standing up and stretching slightly. He was about to walk away, but pauses. Looks back at her over his shoulder. "Orange soda?"

A warm chuckle escaped Raven. "You know me too well."

"Twins." The word meant nothing and meant everything. Qrow turns and walks toward the front counter, putting in his and Raven's order. It was the same pizza that he was sure that he and Raven had ordered every time since they there fifteen. Pepperoni, sausage, and a mix of vegetables with extra cheese.

With the order rung up and some drinks handed over, Qrow went back to the table where Raven was sitting, leaned back in her seat and her eyes roaming over the marble of the statue. He reaches the table and slides the two bottles onto the table before going and getting a small pile of napkins. When they were younger, usually Raven would do all of this, but things were different now.

He just wanted to take care of her these days.

Raven smiles up at him sweetly as he slipped back into his seat. "I'm glad you were able to make it." Raven reaches out, taking her bottle of orange soda and opening it, the sound of the plastic cap breaking away from the ring sounding like a small series of pops. Her eyes traveled over Qrow's face. There's a silence between them that was painfully uncomfortable.

Idly, Raven reached out, offering Qrow her hand and bridging the gap between them.. To no surprise, he reached out and took it, holding her hand gingerly for just a moment before looking down to see Raven's knuckles.

Dark.

Bruised.

Split.

"Ray..." Qrow's eyes flick from her hand then back up to her eyes, a much more violent crimson than his own. "Why did you call me here?"

"I wanted to see my brother." Realizing the scrutiny, Raven pulls her hand back and crosses her arms over her chest before looking away from Qrow, defensive. "That's all it is."

Qrow frowns and leans back, sighing. "Raven, you and I... I missed you too, I just... that's not all there is, is it?" He can feel his heart clench in his chest as he asked the question, though he knew better than to expect a truthful answer from Raven. Even a full answer felt like a bit much to ask for. But he had to try anyways. Qrow raises one of his hands, burying his face in it for just a moment before looking back up at Raven, expression hopeful.

In the back of his mind, something screamed that he was going to need a drink after this.

He always felt like he needed a drink after he saw Raven.

It was just a side effect of having her as a sister.

Raven shoots Qrow an incredulous look. "Qrow, I've just needed to see you." The older Branwen twin purses her lips, a pure mark of displeasure before reaching out for her soda again. "I got into some trouble and I just... I needed to see you."

It was about the answer that he had expected. "I know." Qrow frowns as he picked up his drink. Mentally, he tried to replace it with something more potent despite the fact that he knew that he couldn't induce his own drunkeness so easily. "Raven... I heard something and I had the feeling it was you." His eyes travel to the darkness around Raven's eyes. "You have to tell me what happened."

Raven sighs, still refusing to make eye contact with Qrow. "I got in a fight, ok?"

"And?"

"And I may or may not have had to dip into my rent money to pay my bail."

Of course. Qrow had expected this, but he didn't want to hear it. He sighs, sits up. Pushes back his hair. "Ok." His voice is tight. "When's your rent due?"

Raven seems to perk up slightly. "Qrow... are you sure?" Despite her looking back at him now, more willing to talk to Qrow about what was going on, Qrow knew that she was still defensive. Still ready to run if she needed to.

"I am." Qrow answers, catching Raven's eyes. "I want you safe. I have a... decent living situation. And I'm taken care of."

Raven's expression sinks along with her tone. "You're living with them, aren't you?"

"I am." Qrow answers, hearing the pain in Raven's voice. "And they don't know that I'm with you, before you ask. They think I'm at work." He watches as relief seems to flow over Raven's features, his sister relaxing slightly into her seat at the revelation. He had a feeling that this was going to be the closest that the two of them got to actually talking about the constant elephant in the room that had existed over the course of the last eight and a half years of their lives.

Some baggage couldn't be lifted. Some weight lasted forever.

In his heart, Qrow knew Raven would never escape it.

A sigh escapes Raven, and she reaches up, rubbing at her sore eyes for a moment as though she were trying to push away some sort of pain. "You don't have to, Qrow." She peeks back up at her brother from behind her eye, and for a moment Qrow wondered if she wished there was a mask in place of her hand. Something to hide her so she could appear to grow stronger in the solitude.

"But I want to." Qrow answers, crossing one leg over the other and leaning back in his seat. "I... I have work right now, and it's going to be paying out next week. I'm ok with helping keep you on your feet if all it costs is me living on the couch at Tai and Summer's."

"Do they-"

"Not often." Qrow cuts Raven off, knowing the next three words that his sister was going to say instinctively. "Talking about you is kind of a taboo these days." He pauses, the twins finally making full eye contact again for the first time in a while.

"Thank you, Qrow." Raven picks up her soda, twirling the bottle around in her fingers and feeling the liquid inside slosh around with the motion. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

Raven raises an eyebrow and opens her mouth to say something but Qrow doesn't give her the chance.

"Raven, I'm serious. I know you. You wouldn't do something unless you had a good reason for it." Even despite better judgement.

"Even-"

" Yes." He exhales. "Even that."

"You know it's stupid." She shoots him a look. "To think like that."

"I don't think it is." Qrow's eyes narrowed and he leaned in slightly, catching Raven's eyes and making sure that their line of sight wouldn't break. "You're my sister. And I think I can trust you to do what's best for you."

Raven was about to open her mouth to retort, but Qrow turns his head away from her before she could speak. At the main counter, Qrow hears the sound of someone yelling out the pizza that he'd ordered. Raven slips out of the booth this time, going to retrieve the pizza and leaving Qrow alone at the table.

For just a moment while she was away, Qrow had a fleeting feeling of worry. The feeling that he wasn't going to see Raven again until she needed him for something again. Sadly, it was too regular of a thing for her. He looks up, checking the time on a clock that was near the jukebox that was pressed against the wall at the front of the restaurant when Raven rejoined him at the table with the pizza and some paper plates.

She sat down on her side of the booth, reaching out and removing a slice of pizza while Qrow did the same. He did his best to push the thoughts back and smile as he began eating his pizza, folding it in half as he'd done on the streets of Vale and at fairs a thousand times before.

This time, Raven broke the quiet. "Tell me about your job."

Qrow looks up and blinks, surprised that Raven was asking him about what he was doing for work. It wasn't the sort of thing that she would normally do, but he had the feeling that she was just trying to get the conversation away from what was going on with her and to what was going on with Qrow instead. Either that or she wanted to make their lunch less awkward.

It was more comfortable for her.

Qrow understood that.

However, that didn't make it any less hard to deal with. Or make her question easier to answer. "My job..."

Qrow looks away from her, avoiding eye contact as he tried to find a way to lie to Raven. It wasn't like telling the girls that he was secret service or something, Raven would know if he was lying to her immediately. HIs mind races, and he can feel his heart pounding in his chest as he tried to come to a good answer. "I..." His eyes flicker between Raven and the wall and back again. "It's... it's weird, Raven. I'm not allowed to talk about it."

"Oh?"

"It's just..." Qrow leans back slightly, his eyes darting around the restaurant to see whether anyone was listening in on them. He leans in close to Raven and drops his volume. "It's not... it's just not normal work."

"So?"

"I might be helping a guy to do something. Something not so good." His eyes meet Raven's, the stare between the two of them painfully direct. "I'm just not allowed to talk about it."

" Oh ." Raven whispers the word, all of the gears clicking together in Raven's head. "I won't tell, ok?"

"This is serious, Raven." Qrow mumbles. "Really serious. If we get found out, someone's probably going to prison, and I don't want to be the reason for that."

"I get it." Raven answers. "Besides, one of us has to stay out of trouble, right?"

Qrow didn't know whether to place what she'd just said as a joke or not. "Yeah." Qrow sits back upright, making himself more comfortable one again. "I'll get paid, and I'll take care of you, alright Raven?"

Raven nods, her long black hair swaying with the motion. She makes direct eye contact with her brother. "What are you going to do if Summer and Taiyang find out?"

"About what?" Qrow asked. "Because that question could apply to a lot of things."

"About you seeing me. You doing that sort of work. You taking care of me?"

There it was. The question that Qrow had been waiting for. He sighs, looks down at his hands. "I don't know." He answers the question as honestly as he could. "I halfway expect to end up on the streets if they find out, but..."

"But?"

Qrow shakes his head. "I don't think the girls would forgive them if that happened." Qrow leans forward, reaching out to take another slice of pizza for himself. "Especially not Yang." His eyes flick up from the pizza to Raven's face.

She flinched.

"I-"

"I'm not worried about it, Raven." Qrow does his best to sound as though he was sure that there wouldn't be any problem if his ruse was found out. It was all a lie in the end, but he didn't want her worrying about him at the moment. And besides, he was good at keeping secrets from Summer and Taiyang, as much as he hated having to keep them. "I mean it."

Raven made a point to look away from Qrow, running a hand through her hair as she kept it far out of her face. "How is she?" Qrow's heart breaks at the sound of her voice. How Raven was so distant from him despite their proximity. For years he'd wanted to reach across the gap, pull her close to him, and protect her.

But that wasn't Raven. In the end, Qrow knew he only got to see her because she allowed it. If she wanted him gone from her life, he wouldn't have been there.

Qrow sets the slice of pizza down on his plate, using a napkin to wipe some of the grease away from his hand. "She's happy. Healthy. Asks about you once in a while."

"What do you tell her?"

"Raven-"

" What do you tell her? "

Qrow's mouth opens and closes as he floundered in search of the right words that he could say. There was an issue, and it was that ultimately, there had never been something correct that he could say in this regard. It was too strange, too hard to navigate. He can feel his expression fall and his heart clench in his chest. For a moment, he wondered whether he could justifiably answer the question in any way.

"I..."

A sigh.

Heartbeats against a thin ribcage.

A swallow.

"I tell her that she might see you someday." It's the best answer he can give. "And that no matter what, she's loved."

It's not enough. It never would be.

All Raven does is cross her arms over her chest, and look back across the table at Qrow. "Okay."

Silence split the room.

Qrow nibbled at his pizza, looking away from Raven and hoping that some of the tension would dissipate. That something would break it and he and Raven could go back to being happy to see each other instead of quiet resentment. That was all that he wanted. He wanted his sister back, not just these random meetings that always seemed to go the same way. But he loved her anyways.

How could he not?

She was his twin, after all.

Silently, he wonders what would happen. If he were to pick up the phone and text Taiyang and Summer and tell them where he was and that it was urgent that they got there. He could bring his family back together, even though he knew that was probably a terrible thing to do. But still, he always wondered despite his better instincts.

The silence weighs on Qrow, and for a moment he thinks that he might have actually been more comfortable if he were there sharing this meal with James instead of Raven. Hell, he felt more awkward in that moment than he did when James panicked earlier that week. He struggles in his mind, looking for the best way that he could get a change in topic again. The problem was that Qrow knew fully well that Raven would go out of her way to steer the conversation away from her at any point.

Ok.

He could handle that.

Qrow sets down his pizza and looks at Raven, who picked up on the eye contact immediately. Across the booth from him, Raven set down her pizza and wiped her fingers off before raising an eyebrow in her brother's direction, silently agreeing that she would speak to him if he brought forward a good enough question.

"So, Raven." Qrow starts, "How much do you need for your bills?"

Raven sighs, reaching into a worn black leather purse that was at her side and removing a small notepad from it that Qrow recognized from all of the last times that he had seen her. It was how she tracked her bills, she'd used a similar notebook back when they lived together with Summer and Taiyang. She flips it open and begins flipping between pages with a rustling sound.

She fell on a page and slid it across the table to Qrow to see. Qrow hesitated, wiping his hands again before picking up the ledger and reading the numbers that were written there in Raven's careless scrawl.

Nine hundred dollars would cover her bills. It was a bit steep, but at the same time, Qrow had the feeling that the number may have just been on par for her norm. Either that or she was behind on some payments and needed help catching back up on them. He closes the notebook before giving it back to Raven. "I'll make sure that you're good, Raven."

"Promise?" Raven asks as she takes the black notebook and tossed it carelessly back into her bag. "Because I really can't afford to miss this month's payments."

"Yeah." Qrow breathes the word. "Promise." He narrows his eyes and reaches up to scratch at the scruff on his chin before bringing forward another question for Raven. "Have you found work?"

"I have." Raven answers. "But the pay is next to nothing." She sighs, stretching in her seat and trying to relax somewhat. "If it paid better I wouldn't need your help."

Another pang of something awful clenched Qrow's chest and wouldn't release him.

It screams in the back of his mind.

He needed a drink.

If it wasn't for the fact that she needed help, Raven wouldn't have been contacting him.

He needed a drink.

Drink .

Qrow reaches into his pocket, removing his phone hastily from it and considering the fact that he could text Junior or Roman and get a drink right then and there. Or that he could call Summer and that she would talk him down. Or that he knew that he had a flask on him that he could break into at any time.

Raven's eyes narrow, and she leans forward, making direct eye contact with her brother. "Qrow?" For the first time that day, Raven's voice was tinged with true concern.

His eyes snap back up to hers. "Raven. Right." He does his best to push those thoughts back and concentrate on the moment, on Raven instead. He shifts uncomfortably in his seat, the flask in his pocket feeling like it was burning through his clothing and into his skin. "What are you doing for work?" He managed to choke the words out, though his voice sounded raspier than ever.

Raven doesn't break her eye contact with Qrow, but sits upright as well. "I'm bartending." The answer was short, and Qrow almost wanted to ask where so that he could see his sister more, but stops himself. "And I'm getting in fights on the side for prize money."

"Which is why you got arrested."

"Yeah." Raven chuckles. "That."

Qrow looks at her face again, frowning at the way that the dark spots underneath her eyes made the red of her eyes stand out more. He knew that they would heal soon, black and blue turning to reds and yellows, but still, it hurt to see Raven like that. Raven leans across the table, smirking at him devilishly. "You aren't even going to ask where I work, Qrow? I'm hurt."

The woman sits back upright, crossing her arms over her chest and smiling across the table at Qrow. "Or-" She begins again, tilting her head and leaning back slightly. "Are you thinking that you'll be able to find where I work all by yourself?"

"I figured I'd find out sooner than later." Qrow says with a frown. "But my partner doesn't let me drink much when I'm in Atlas."

"Partner?" Raven's eyebrow raises. "Qrow, is there something you need to-"

" No. " Qrow cuts her off. "The guy I work with. Most of the time these days, I'm in Atlas for work, not pleasure. My partner James prefers me sober, so I haven't been going to bars much lately."

"Sounds like a dick."

"You have no idea." Qrow laughs.

"I'm surprised you don't go against that just to piss him off, Qrow." Raven looks down at her pizza, ripping off a corner of crust for herself and popping it into her mouth. "You don't usually put up with that shit."

"That's the thing though," Qrow lets his eyes wander around the restaurant. "I wanted to do it just to piss him off, but..." He scratches at his shoulder, idly. "I think he needs me sober when we work."

"What do you mean?" Raven cocks her head to the side, still nibbling at the leftover crust of her pizza. "I know my boss doesn't let us drink on the job, but I'm pretty sure it's because he doesn't want people drinking the stock. Where does this James guy get off?"

Qrow shrugs. "He won't tell me. I think he was in a car crash, needs to know that someone else can drive if he needs it."

"Do you even have your license?"

"Unsuspended, thanks." Qrow puts down his slice of pizza and picks up his bottle of soda. "Not that he knows that." His eyes focus on Raven's. "Do you have your license?"

"Motorcycle." Raven answers, nonchalantly. "It's outside."

"I'm jealous." Qrow says, nodding. Mentally, he pushed back the thought that told him Yang would love that. His eyes go to the pizza that was there between them, with two remaining slices of pizza that neither of them had bothered to take. He figured that he could take the leftovers to Roman's and give them to Junior and Roman or something. He looks up at Raven from the Pizza. "You done?"

"Yeah, I think so." Raven answers, beginning to pile up her trash on her plate in front of her. "You want it?"

"Yeah, I'll take it. Feed Jimmy or something." Qrow does the same as Raven does and stands up, removing his grey leather wallet from his pocket and flipping it open to his money. He removes two bills from it, a five and a ten. Meanwhile, Raven removes her own wallet from her bag, doing the same as Qrow did and passing the two bills to Qrow, who went straight to the front to pay while Raven threw away their trash.

Qrow comes back with an empty food box, and uses it to store the pizza away. Raven moves the two leftover slices of pizza into the box and smiles at her brother. "Thank you for joining me, Qrow."

"Yeah.," Qrow answers, chest clenching again. "No problem, Raven."

He picks up the box of food and reaches into his pocket, pulling out his phone so that he could text James about getting picked up. He sends off the message to James, hoping for a quick response from the older man. Together he and Raven walk outside of the restaurant. Raven walks over towards her motorcycle.

Qrow joins her there, staying a few feet back to admire the bike while Raven strapped on her bag. She looks at him directly. "You need a ride home or something little brother?"

"Nah," Qrow answers. "I've gotta wait around for James to get here though."

"Want me to wait with you?" Raven leans against her bike, raising an eye and watching her brother. "Because I don't have to work tonight. Something about my boss being busy."

"Yeah." Qrow answers, checking his phone to see that James had responded to him, and was on his way. "It shouldn't be too long anyways."

Raven smiles and nods. "Sounds good." She laughs and crosses her arms.

The two talk in the meantime, with Qrow telling Raven about how Yang was doing while Raven listened quietly, once in a while asking a question of her own. The entire while, Qrow's skin itched for a drink, but he decided not to go for the flask in his pocket, since he didn't need James being frustrated with him when he was already feeling a bit down himself.

After five minutes of talking, the all too familiar sedan pulled into the parking lot, and Qrow saw James there, looking tired with bags under his eyes.

James' usual look of exhaustion was one of someone who was done with the world. Not this. Mentally, it raised an alarm to Qrow.

Qrow stepped towards Raven, offering his sister a hug which she graciously took. He wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her tight to him for just a moment. "I've gotta go, Raven." He mumbled the words into her ear.

"I'll see you, ok Qrow?" Raven steps back, pulling herself out of the hug and looks up at Qrow with a gentle smile. "You enjoy yourself with your partner.'

Qrow realized then that Raven was looking at the car, where James sat with the window rolled down. His eyes flick between James and Raven, and he opens his mouth to say something, but decides not to.

He closes his eyes.

Inhales.

Reopens them.

"Yeah." Qrow begins on the way towards James' car. He was almost around the car when he realized that James was getting out, holding the keys out in Qrow's direction in a silent order to drive. The two exchange the keys and pizza, with Qrow taking the wheel of the car.

He was pulling out of the parking lot when he realized that Raven had just sent him a text.

 _'You didn't mention he was hot. '_

Qrow responds when they're at the next traffic light.

 _'Raven, shut up. '_

When James only asked Qrow to pay attention to the road, Qrow was beyond just a little grateful.


	10. Bookkeeping

James and Qrow pulled into the parking lot in front of Roman and Junior's building after having spent most of the afternoon at James' house. The two of them had spent their free time before the meeting talking. Qrow had needed a chance to vent, and for once, James had been willing to listen. He'd even vented a bit for himself. In the end, it was almost enough to make Qrow feel comfortable with their partnership.

Almost.

And so now, James was drumming on the steering wheel with his fingers and bringing his sedan to a park in front of Roman's Candle Street apartment. James gets out first, stretching slightly and readying himself to go in by adjusting the glove that covered his right hand. Qrow gets out of the passenger's side, and hesitates a long moment before beginning to follow James into the building. He reached into his pocket, feeling the cool metal of his flask there and tosses it into the car, it landing on the passenger's seat before he went to join James.

He didn't need that temptation right now.

Qrow walked alongside James, realizing quickly that the taller of the two men had raised an eyebrow at him over the pause. James didn't open his mouth to say anything, instead just nodding before going to the door and pulling it open wordlessly.

It almost felt surreal, to Qrow. He hadn't exactly been one to make timely appearances in the past at these meetings, but now that he was with James, Qrow didn't have any choice in the matter. They stepped inside, and for a moment, Qrow realized that James had stopped, eyes going between the stairs and the elevator. He doesn't question it, but he waits alongside James for the elevator to arrive for them after he saw that James had punched the button to call it.

The elevator door opens up, and James leads the way in. Qrow follows, pressing the button that would bring them up to the floor where Junior and Roman lived. James leans against the back wall, crossing his arms over his chest and waiting, watching the small screen that displayed what level of the building they were on.

Qrow let his eyes wander over towards James, just for a moment. There was a part of him that really liked what he saw.

Concentrated James zeroed in on his goals.

Worried James with stress marking his entire being.

James, with red shining against his blue eyes.

For a moment, Qrow's mind flashed back to the sight of James on the bed that first night at James' house.

He pushes it back. This wasn't the time or the place. Qrow makes a point to look away from his partner before speaking. "So, Jim." Qrow does his best to bring James' attention towards him. "Any idea what this is about?"

"Bookkeeping." James answers as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Who's going where. Who's driving. Who will be jumping into the middle of this." The older man's tone sounded bored, like he didn't want to talk about it. Or like he'd talked about the same thing a hundred times before and simply garnered no interest for it these days. Qrow wasn't sure which was more accurate. He figured the truth was probably a mix of both.

"Oh." Qrow croaks the word out. "So then it's good we're on time then."

"It is." James closes his eyes, tilting his head back for a moment and stepping outside as soon as the elevator door opened up. Qrow followed James outside and down the hallway to the door to Junior and Roman's apartment, which had a doormat outside for the first time that depicted some cartoon character welcoming people to the apartment.

Qrow looked down at the character for a moment, and listened as James knocked on the door.

The knock sounded too hard to be flesh. So James had knocked with his right hand, then.

That was interesting.

It's a momentary wait, but the door was pulled open by Junior. For the first time, Qrow realized that Junior towered over James and him both. He wasn't sure exactly why that hadn't registered to him before, but for a moment Qrow felt like he was impossibly small.

"James!" Junior's voice sounded pleased. "And Qrow. Roman's working on dinner for everyone, and the game's on in the living room."

"What's the score?" James asked as he stepped in, shrugging off his jacket and stepping out of his shoes on the way in.

"Six to Fourteen." Junior answers quickly, stepping out of the way and going to the fridge in the living room. He opened it up, and Qrow could hear the sound of two or three bottles clinking around inside.

What was happening?

Qrow was dumbstuck. Was this the same James that he'd been working with? Was he in the twilight zone? Had he been cursed by a sorcerer and trapped in an alternate dimension?

He followed James inside, trying to make sense of what was happening. At the door, Qrow stopped for a moment to kick off his shoes before going to the couch and seating himself there cross-legged.

James seated himself beside Qrow, but didn't pay Qrow much mind, his eyes instead focusing on the television screen that was in front of them. It's barely a minute, but soon Junior was there in the room with them, setting bottles of beer down on the table in front of them. Qrow stares the bottle down, not appreciating its taunts.

He doesn't even realize it immediately when James reached out to take the bottle that Junior was handing off to him, raising it to his lips and drinking deeply from it. Junior seats himself down next to James, and leans back, stretching one arm across the back of the couch and allowing himself to tilt his head back in comfort.

"Thanks." James mumbles the word over the lip of his beer, eyes focused on the screen straight ahead. "I needed it."

"You always need it." Junior chuckles the words out, picking his head up to look between James and Qrow. He raises an eyebrow, but doesn't say anything. Qrow wanted to peel himself out of the tallest man's sight, but knew that wasn't possible without making a scene.

"It's been a rough day." James turns his head, looking directly at Junior now as he spoke. He shakes his head, setting his beer down on the table that was in front of them and sighs lowly. "I still can't get used to highways."

"No shit." Junior mutters.

Qrow stayed silent, reaching out and taking the bottle that Junior had left on the table for him to drink from. He stares at it for a moment, almost feeling himself get lost in the amber liquid inside, or the cool glass, or the way that the light barely managed to shine through the darkened bottle.

It reminded him of home.

Slowly, Qrow raises the bottle to his lips, drinking from it and hoping that he'd be able to stop later. Hope that he wouldn't get wound up in the comforting fuzzy feeling that made him feel like he was able to float away from everything. From his problems.

He feared what would happen when he finally hit the ground again.

Junior's voice dragged Qrow back down. "Are you going to be ok to drive this job, James? If you can't handle highways at low speeds-"

"I know." James' voice comes barely above a whisper. "I don't know. I might ask Roman and Glynda to move Qrow out of the car with me like I did with Winter-"

Wait.

What?

Roman steps into the room,, looking a bit ragged and worse for the wear, his usually perfect orange hair out of sorts. Roman looked between the three men on the couch and raises an eyebrow. "I heard my name-" The man's eyes fell on Qrow, then shifted back to James and Junior for a moment before going back to Qrow.

With a wave of his hand, Qrow was being beckoned forward and away from James and Junior.

He'd take it. He'd take any saving grace at this point.

Qrow stands up, bringing the bottle of beer into the kitchen with him to join Roman, who was slipping back into a cooking apron with a low sigh. Unsure of what to do, Qrow leaned against the counter and simply watched the other man as he cooked. "Hey, Roman."

"Qrow." Roman's voice sounded ragged. "I figured it best I get you out of there. Give the boys some privacy."

"Right." Qrow's eyes stray back towards the living room, where James and Junior had partially rearranged themselves into a more comfortable position to talk. "Roman, should I... be worried?" He raises the bottle to his lips again, drinking deeply in it and wishes that the warmth of the alcohol would sink into his bones faster. Wishes it would take him away faster. "I get the feeling he's not ready for this job."

Roman sighs, looking out towards the living room as well. "I think you'll be fine. If things are really that bad, we can have you drive instead of James."

"What happened to him?" Qrow asks the question finally, hoping that he'd be able to get a good answer about it. Something to help piece the entire story together in a way that made sense. "I feel like if I'm going to be his partner I should know, and he won't exactly tell me."

Roman's expression saddened for a long moment, and Qrow wondered where the usually bubbly redhead was. Whether he was in some faraway place that Qrow would never be able to reach or not. "You... you have to understand, Qrow, what happened that night it wasn't..." He looks away, emerald eyes focusing in on the open pot that was in front of him. "He should be dead, Qrow. We didn't know if he'd live for months. Some of us pooled money from that job together to make sure his girl would be taken care of with him gone. College funds. That sort of thing."

Qrow sipped from the drink, realizing that Roman looked like he was going to be sick. Like he was going to drop. "You didn't know him then, Qrow. But he used to be... different. Happy. It's like looking at a different person."

"So what you're saying-"

"I don't think he's ever going to be ready to do this again, Qrow." Roman's voice was unwavering. "Ever. People don't just come back from things like that."

"What happened?"

"I don't know exactly. He'd been quiet for a while that day and I… " The words come barely above a whisper. Roman's brow furrowed. "I just remember the fireball."

"What?"

"In my rear view mirror." Roman looked like he wanted to cry. Qrow set down the bottle, stepping forward to wrap his arms around Roman and try to comfort the other man. "I thought he was dead."

Roman's arms wrapped around Qrow's waist. Qrow didn't move to stop him or protest it though, he didn't feel right doing that. Not now. Not when Roman was clearly feeling vulnerable. Roman didn't deserve to be shut down like that. However, in the back of Qrow's mind there was something that simply screamed that suddenly things were starting to make more sense on the whole. James' quiet about whatever he'd been through. The request to have Winter removed from the car with them. The metal arm and the way that James' hands seemed to tense every time he was behind the wheel of a car.

"Are you going to be ok?" Qrow mumbles the words, listening closely for either a quiet response from Roman or to try and hear the sound of James and Junior's conversing in the other room. Little to Qrow's surprise, Roman pulled away.

Straightened up.

Inhaled deeply.

Recomposed himself.

"Yeah." Roman's voice sounded like he'd been permanently cracked in half. "I think I should be, Qrow. Thank you." Roman turned back to the pot on the stovetop, reaches out with both of his hands and leaned forward, letting his arms support him as his head hung between his shoulders.

In the other room, Qrow managed to make out the sound of Junior's voice.

"-not your fault, Jim. Nobody knew what would-"

"And if it happens again?" James' voice raised in the living room. Qrow blinks, looks back at Roman for a moment and then inches closer to the door to the kitchen so that he could get a better idea of what was being said. "I can't put Penny through that again."

"Penny-"

"She's my daughter, Junior." Qrow swallows, listening in. "I'm doing this so that I can take care of her. Get stable. Get her back."

"I know, Jim." Qrow managed to get a good view of the two men. James, leaned forward with his head in his left hand, staring down at his right like he wanted it vaporized and completely removed from his body. "But you… you do know that what happened was a freak accident, right?"

"I don't know what happened." James looked like he was about to snap. "And nobody-"

A loud knock at the door interrupted everything in the apartment like a thunder crack.

For a moment, Qrow wondered if the world had stopped. James froze. Junior got up to go to the door. In the kitchen beside him, Roman was shifting about, straightening back up and going to the fridge to check his reflection in a small mirror.

Qrow heard the door open, and the familiar clacking of heels. Two pairs of feet.

So Glynda and Winter had arrived. That meant it was almost show time then. Roman looked at Qrow and nodded, signaling for him to go back out to the living room. Qrow took the moment, picking up the neglected bottle of beer and draining the rest of it before heading into the living room where James was still sitting on the couch.

Qrow sat down next to the man on James' right side. Realized that James was wringing his hands and staring angrily at the bottle in front of him with an intensity that could have shattered glass or bent steel.

He was ready to say something, to try and comfort James, but before he could, James was straightening up, plastering on a happy face, and looking at Glynda, who was carrying a metal briefcase. She stops at the table in front of Qrow and James, her green eyes flicking between the pair for just a moment.

"A gift from Ozpin." She sets the briefcase down in front of James. "Another apology, I'm guessing."

James and Glynda made eye contact, James' expression confused, but soon James reached out, taking the briefcase and turning it to face him. Qrow craned his neck slightly to get a good view of what was inside. James carefully undid the two clasps at the side and pulled the lid up, revealing a shiny gun, resting in black foam.

The room is silent as James reached out for the weapon, carefully picking it up and turning it over in his hands. "The car was enough." James mumbles the words, reaching up to run his fingers over a filigree engraving near the barrel of the gun. "It's… it's almost like how I remember." James set the gun back down in its case, closing it and locking it shut again. "I'll be sure to send my thanks to Oz."

"They said there'd be no need." Glynda answered as she went to the front of the room, where Junior was busying himself by turning off the tv and setting up the easel that Roman liked to use in their meetings.

The woman looked the easel over, and sighs, opening up a folder so that she could post images and notes that had been collected over the course of the last few weeks. A minute later, Roman came in with a large pad of paper, setting it on the easel and beginning to pin up the map of the city that was marked with all of the locations they needed to pay attention to.

Amongst all of the bustle of the room, Qrow wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. Whether he should be getting his phone out and checking for photos that would help, or taking notes, or what. He'd done jobs for this group in the past but he still always felt lost. Silently, he wondered if he'd ever really get used to doing these jobs.

At his side, James was reaching into his pocket to remove that same notebook that he'd used every time that they'd been on the job. The notebook was flipped open, and Qrow watched as James reached into one of his pockets to remove the silvery pen that he'd borrowed at the restaurant.

Qrow peered over James' hands to see that James was flipping from page to page, pausing when he reached one that was fresh. He watched, jerking his eyes away when he realized that James had noticed that he was staring.

Of course James would.

James seemed like he was wired to notice people staring more than anything else.

The older man's eyes lingered on Qrow for just a moment before he was back to looking down at his notebook, scribbling down the date in the top right corner of it. Shifting uncomfortably in his seat, Qrow faced forward so that he wouldn't risk making an already on-edge James even more nervous, or make himself seem awkward in the process.

There's a few minutes of quiet for them, with everyone settling into their seats, Winter taking the seat next to James on his right while Junior took a place on the chair that Qrow had used at their first meeting.

Then, it was Roman's turn to speak.

"Well, it's been a bit, hasn't it?" Roman leans against the arm of the loveseat that was next to the easel, his green eyes scanning over the room to try and figure out what he was supposed to do and what he was supposed to say. To Qrow, that hesitation spoke volumes. Roman was always strong, ready, and self-assured when he'd done these talks in the past.

Had their conversation in the kitchen really shaken him that badly?

Roman reaches into his pocket, removing a thick black marker and quickly uncapping it before writing on the top of the easel a specific time that they would all need to know.

6:00.

He taps on the number with the plastic end of the marker, drawing everyone's attention to it. "We all know what this means." He keeps his voice as level as he possibly can. "Ozpin wants us doing the job for Sunday night, and what that means is that we all have to be ready and have everything together before then." Roman's eyes flick to Qrow before flicking away. "And I expect that everyone's done their homework so we'll be able to have this whole thing go smoothly."

The thin man goes to the map, looking at the number of photographs that were there and reaches into his pocket, the same one that he'd had the marker in to remove a small plastic container that was filled to the brim with sewing pins. He flicks it open, and sets the container down on the couch cushion next to him. "You all know your assignments for review, but for emphasis, let's go over the plans, shall we?"

Roman plucks a pair of blue and red pins, shoving them into the map at the two locations that Qrow recognized as being the ones that he and James had gone to. "Birdy and General, you two will be Eagle One. You'll be sticking with the same places you surveyed. You two will have to talk over the plans for the whole thing, we don't want any mishaps."

Qrow was about to open his mouth to say something, only to find himself cut off.

"Qrow will be driving, I'll handle the groundwork." James announces in false confidence, scribbling something down on the notepad that Qrow wasn't able to make out for himself. "With some... luck, we should see a fair amount of success without much issue."

The red eyed member of the pair's eyes narrowed at this, a little unhappy at the fact that James had decided this without talking to him about the issue at all. That wasn't to say that he didn't expect a similar outcome to this, but it was a bit disconcerting to Qrow.

"Good." Roman's voice sounded a little bit lighter. "Then you two should be ready. Black clothes, gloves, masks. There should be a car and any supplies at the warehouse waiting for you. Hopefully that's ok?"

"Excellent." James' voice was tight, and Qrow realized that James had written something down on the notepad again, this time ripping the sheet off and passing it in Qrow's direction in quiet correspondence.

Qrow flipped it open, seeing James' neat handwriting. 'I can't drive on this.' Was all that it said. It was all that James was probably willing to explain either.

That didn't stop Qrow from having the absolute sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach telling him that he was going to be going on patrol with someone who had possibly become a bit of a wild card over the last year. And that was not a good feeling to have.

Satisfied with James and Qrow's situation, Roman moved on, his eyes sliding to Glynda and Winter. "White Witch and Blizzard-" Roman was sticking another two pairs of sewing pins into the board, this time at locations that Qrow didn't recognize. These pins were white and purple, respectively. "You two will be doing your locations. Blizzard, be ready for this. You're going to be in the thick of things, and I know that's new for you. White Witch will take care of you though. Any questions?"

At James' side, Winter raised her hand. "Uniforms?"

"Same as what Eagle One is wearing. White Witch, I trust you to get that taken care of."

"We'll be alright." Glynda says coolly, pushing her glasses up in a composed manner. "I should have some old gear that would fit Winter, and I have already purchased my own supplies for this assignment."

"Good." Roman smiles, watching as Glynda looked down at the tablet that was in her lap, presumably sending some sort of message to Ozpin about how the meeting was going. "In that case, for this mission, you two will be known as Eagle Three."

"Excellent." Glynda answers.

Winter was about to open her mouth to ask something, but was only cut off by Roman.

"As for me and Junior, we're going to be taking the last of the stations." Roman stuck a pair of pins in the last station, which had been circled in black marker, and then put another pair of black and orange pins into the warehouse that was marked in red on the map. "We'll be handling the one station, then we'll be the first to the warehouse for…" Roman paused, thinking before gesturing and going back to the instructions. "We'll call them bookkeeping purposes. We will be Mom and Pop when you make radio calls."

Winter spoke up now. "No Eagle Two?"

Roman laughs, voice lilting with the sound. "Misdirection, Blizzard. It's important."

Winter hesitates a long moment, but relaxes back into the seat beside James with a quiet huff. "Right." She exhales slowly. "Misdirection."

"Good." Roman says, tapping on the warehouse with his marker again and drawing everyone's attention back to it. "As usual, this will be our base of operations. When we all arrive for the job, there should already be cars there waiting. Magnetic plates. Be ready to change those somewhere along the way. Stay hard to find."

Glynda stands up, taking the spotlight now for herself and drawing everyone's eyes to her instead of to Roman. "Ozpin has made a few requests for this job which it's best we all are sure to follow. Firstly, they want us to ensure that none of these stores are able to operate after this." She turns her tablet around, showing everyone an image of what looked like the contents of some sort of duffel bag.

"Ozpin will be providing each pair with a kit such as this one." In the picture, was a black duffel bag that had had its many contents emptied out in front of it. Among those contents were license plates, guns, and a number of what looked like small bombs to Qrow's eyes. He wasn't sure what he was looking at, and wasn't even able to ask before Glynda was speaking. "You'll each be tasked with not only robbing the stores but also placing explosive charges on the gas pumps at each station. You'll all be detonating these on your own. Each charge is numbered, so pay close attention to that if you don't want to meet any unfortunate consequences."

Her green eyes strayed to James, and for a moment Qrow thought that he saw a flash of sadness across her face. Qrow's eyes flicked over to James, who seemed to be a bit taken aback and ready to shrink away under the scrutiny. "In addition, there will be a charge under the gas tank of each car. When you've finished your part of the job, call Mom and Pop and they will ensure that the car is taken care of. Board public transportation and make your way back to the warehouse that way. Remember, no personal vehicles are permitted on this job."

Qrow looks at James, who had just scribbled something down on the notepad. After a moment, Qrow was able to make the words out the words as a note to wear a layer of street clothes. That was going to be hot, was the first thing that Qrow thought.

"As usual, this will be a discrete matter, and as such it's recommended you all take great care in making your way back to the warehouse safely." Glynda turns her tablet off with a quiet click and looks at Roman, nodding to pass control of the situation back to the other man.

Roman flicked a lock of his orange hair out of his face and nodded. "That's everything, really." His eyes flick between everyone else in the room. "Burner phones are to be abandoned around the city after the job. Aside from that..." He inhaled deeply. "Good luck."

With those words it was like time had restarted again, everyone was standing up, moving around the apartment and trying to take the time to relax, to be together for once. Qrow shifts and looks at James, standing up. He's silent.

Qrow feels his heart clench in hesitation before speaking up and drawing James' attention directly to him. "James," he mumbles. "Can we talk?"

James stands up and sighs, reaching into his pocket to find his keys with a quiet jingling sound. "Yeah." James whispers. "We probably should. Do you want to go back to Vale for the night or would you rather-"

"I think I need to stop in Vale for a bit." Qrow answers. "But... we need to talk."

James nods. Qrow realizes for a moment that James had looked back over his shoulder to see Junior, who only nodded encouragingly to him. James eyes direct back onto Qrow. "We do." He admits a moment later. "But for now we should just... enjoy our time with friends. Not worry ourselves."

Qrow knew the subtext of it. Knew exactly what it was that James was saying.

James wanted a chance to say goodbye.

Of course.

How could he not?

Qrow nods and steps away. "I think Roman made everyone dinner anyways." Qrow smiles weakly at James and steps away, going into the kitchen where Roman was standing with Glynda and talking quietly about what the next few days would look like. He found himself stopping at the entrance of the kitchen, not wanting to intrude on the two, only to win a smile from Roman.

"Qrow." Roman says, looking at the thinner man. "Want to talk?"

"Yeah." Qrow answers, stepping in and nodding to Glynda. "I dunno." He hesitates. "Maybe."

"What's up?" Roman asks as he removed a dish of something from the oven and sets it down on the stovetop. Food for everyone to enjoy. "James again?"

A nod.

"Thought so." Roman says a moment later before looking at Glynda. "I told him earlier."

"Ah." Glynda nods in recognition. "Of course."

Qrow sighs. "I'm going to try to talk to him but..."

"Save it for when you're alone." Roman advises. "It's for the best."

"Right." Qrow looks at the pot of food, then to Roman. "When's dinner?"

Roman laughs. "Get some plates from the cabinet next to you, call everyone in to eat, and I'll let you know."

Qrow does exactly as Roman had said, reaching up and getting down the plates before stepping into the other room to get everyone's attention for dinner. Slowly, people began streaming in to get their food.

To Qrow's surprise, he found himself with James at his side. The taller man leaned against the wall, watching as everyone milled about and got their drinks. Qrow looks at James, his rusty colored eyes meeting pools of cobalt. To Qrow's surprise, James shot him a weak smile that tried desperately to say everything would be alright.

It wasn't convincing.


	11. Work

Sunday morning, James was the first one awake whilst Qrow slept silently on his couch, seemingly oblivious to the world's moving forward. There was a part of him that wanted to let Qrow sleep since it was only six in the morning, but today James couldn't have that.

He couldn't have the silence for too much longer, and as wildly aggravating as Qrow tended to be, he needed the company. There were a lot of things about the situation that were unfavorable in James' eyes. There was the fact that he knew that Qrow had listened in on him on the phone with Penny the night before.

The fact that Qrow had probably decoded his "I love yous" to their true meanings- "Goodbye," "I expect to die," "I'm not sure I'll see you again."

Qrow wasn't dumb, James knew that. Perhaps the other man would play it up so that others would underestimate him, but Qrow wasn't dumb. Not in the least bit. Just had a lot of problems.

James could relate.

With his coffeemaker turned on, James went back upstairs to his bedroom, slipping into a pair of dark blue jeans and a heavy black sweater that made him feel like he was getting ready for battle. He'd used a similar one on their last job, and Roman had been kind enough to find a replacement in his absence.

It was the closest thing he had to armor.

James slipped on a black glove and shoved its twin into his pocket so that he could slip it on later when they went to work. He stepped into the washroom, fixing his hair and making sure that he looked presentable while also being sure to avoid seeing himself as much as possible.

He didn't need the rage that filled him every time he saw his reflection. A reflection which was not his own, a reflection that had become twisted and broken and resoundingly not his.

It made him angry. So angry, in fact, that he'd already had to replace a mirror before.

He brushed his teeth quickly, rinsed the brush off, and went back downstairs to where Qrow was sleeping and the pot of coffee was almost ready. He stepped into the living room to wake Qrow, but as soon as he saw his partner's sleeping form, James couldn't help but to hesitate.

He felt bad about waking Qrow up, really, but that wasn't what bothered him. It was the question of how he was supposed to wake Qrow up without things becoming weird or awkward. James wasn't even sure whether that was possible.

He resigned himself to a strategy.

Stood up tall.

Raised his voice.

"Qrow." He says the word loudly, hoping to catch Qrow's attention. To James' chagrin, Qrow only shifted slightly on the couch, leaving James wonder whether Qrow was a bombproof sleeper or not. He tried again, this time raising his voice a little louder and his tone becoming more insistent.

"Qrow."

No answer.

Ok.

That was awkward.

Third time's the charm, right?

James stepped to the side of the couch, and reached out to shake Qrow's shoulder but hesitated at the sight of his gloved hand above Qrow. He pulled back, exhaled, and reached back out, this time with his left hand and gave Qrow a shake. "Qrow."

Qrow whined, shifting about on the couch and out of James' grip, cracking a red eye open to look blearily up at James. James jerked his hand back instinctively.

The man on the couch rubbed at his eyes and looked around the room in an attempt to figure out what was going on. "Jim?" His voice was raspy with sleep. "What time is it?"

"Six." James answers, looking away and going to the kitchen where he got out two coffee mugs. "It's best that you get up now so that we can…"

"Isn't the job later though?" Qrow sat up, scratching at a patch of hair on his bare chest and staring up at James from behind his messy black hair. James looked at Qrow for a moment and sighed, pouring the two mugs of coffee and hesitating before deciding to speak.

"It is." James says, opening up a drawer to remove a spoon. "How do you like your coffee?"

"Cream and five sugars." Qrow chuckles at the sound of James' response: a low groan that probably came from general frustration. In the kitchen, he could hear James working away and measuring out Qrow's request. A minute later James came back into the living room with two mugs of coffee, offering one to Qrow while keeping the darker of the two for himself. "So why get up so early?" Qrow asks.

"It's best we're ready for tonight." I wanted someone to talk to. "Preparedness is our best asset." I didn't want to spend the morning alone again. James raises the mug of coffee to his lips and sips from it. "And I don't know whether there was anything that you wanted to get in Vale beforehand." I'm afraid I won't come back.

Qrow blinks, drinking his own coffee and running a hand through his messy hair for just a moment in thought. He shifted on the couch, turning so that he could face James and set the mug of coffee down on the table in front of him. "How about shower, then breakfast?" Qrow asked. "Figure it might be best."

James floundered for a moment, opening his mouth before closing it again and trying to recompose himself. "There's a washroom upstairs. Towels are in the closet."

Qrow chuckled. "Thanks, Jimmy."

"It's James."

"I know." Qrow smirks. "Don't know what you want to do about breakfast though."

James sighs. "I don't know that I can do breakfast this morning." He goes back to the kitchen, opening up cabinets that Qrow now knew contained James' medications. Inside the kitchen, James stared down at the white tablets in his hand before tossing them into his mouth and washing them down with his coffee.

Seemingly aware of James' discomfort, Qrow stood up, drinking down all of the rest of his coffee before going upstairs to the area where James, Penny, and Winter's rooms were in addition to the bathroom.

James closed his eyes, listening in to figure out the exact moment that the water turned on and Qrow started his shower. His peace guaranteed for a little bit, he took his time to relax and sighed. He needed to push everything out of his mind and just focus on what was going on later that day.

He compiled a checklist.

Breakfast. Drive to Vale. Let Qrow get his things. Drive back. Lunch if possible. Get ready for the job by doing a final drive through. Back to the house to get dressed. Then to the warehouse.

After that, survive.

James dragged himself to his office, which was tucked away in a corner of the house that was always quiet, despite being in full view of the main staircase. He sat down there, opened up his laptop and began to review the many documents and notes that he'd allowed himself the ability to access from home.

He inhaled deeply, and began to work out a plan.

For fifteen minutes, James managed to block everything out and was able to focus. He didn't notice the house phone ringing, or the fact that the water had stopped running upstairs, or the fact that he didn't know what to do with Qrow.

For fifteen minutes, all that existed was work.

James leaned back in his seat, letting it swivel so that he could check the old analog clock that was hanging on the wall in direct view of his seat. He didn't notice the sound of Qrow walking down the stairs, and wasn't at all prepared for the sight of Qrow Branwen coming down the stairs.

Or Qrow Branwen, soaking wet.

Qrow Branwen, wearing nothing but a towel.

Their eyes met.

James felt a heat prickle on the back of his neck.

Qrow blinked twice.

James opened his mouth to speak, but Qrow cut him off.

"I uh... forgot my clothes." Qrow looked away from James, as though he was unwilling to meet James' gaze for any longer than he had to. "So I'm gonna just-"

James blinked. Rubbed his face with his hand. Pulled his eyes away from Qrow and turned in his seat so that the other man couldn't see the flush of embarrassment that was now overtaking his complexion. "Right." He swallows. "You should go do that."

"Yeah." James hears the sound of Qrow padding away on bare feet and leans forward, resting his head in his hands and inhales deeply, trying to push the thought out of his mind so that he'd be able to concentrate. However, the prospect of that didn't seem entirely too likely as long as Qrow was in his home.

He'd noticed it before.

Qrow wasn't a bad looking guy and he'd even seen Qrow shirtless before but somehow this time it was different. The knowledge that Qrow had been wearing nothing else besides that towel made it too overwhelming.

James closes his eyes.

Vaguely, he's able to make out the sound of Qrow moving around the house. Several minutes later, Qrow came to the door of his office and broke through the silence that James was drowning in. "Jim."

The sound of his own name shook James out of his own mind, making him sit up and blink once or twice to try and shake himself from his stupor and pay attention to Qrow. "What is it?" He asks the question, finding himself surprised at how ragged his voice sounded. He'd been up for over an hour now, why was he still sounding like that?

"I thought we were going to do breakfast."

We?

He looked up at Qrow, pushing back from his seat and standing up to cross the room and join his companion. "Right." James mumbled. "You wanted breakfast."

Qrow raises an eyebrow, not really sure where James was going with this. "So..."

"Um." James stretches slightly, walking into the living room and into the kitchen, pulling his fridge open to see whether there was anything there that could serve as a suitable breakfast for Qrow. Instead, all James came to understand was that he really needed to go grocery shopping. "I don't really think I have anything-"

"You don't have to make me breakfast you know." Qrow steps in, standing over James' shoulder and peering into the fridge to look for something that he could eat as well. "You only saw me naked, if anything, I should be paying you back."

"I didn't see you naked." James frowns, realizing that it probably sounded very much like he was trying to convince himself of that fact to make himself feel less embarrassed about the whole thing. He also feels himself flush in embarrassment. "Would it make you happy if I brought you to a diner or something instead?"

"I mean, I'm ok with fast food." Qrow scratches at his chin, humming thoughtfully as he stared into the fridge. "How about we start heading out to Vale so I can grab what I need before the girls are up and stop at a drive through on the way there?"

Feeling somewhat relieved by the suggestion, James nods. "Alright." He straightens up, going to the bowl that he kept his keys in and scooping them out. Qrow watched as James hesitated, and shook his head. Watched as James set the keys back down in the bowl.

He couldn't do this.

Not today.

Not with the last job on his mind.

"You'll have to drive." James feels his blood go cold as he says the words, avoiding Qrow's gaze. "I don't think I can."

"Got it." Qrow answers. To James' surprise, the shorter of the pair followed up on that statement. "Besides, you probably just took your medication, right?"

What was Qrow trying to do?

"Yeah." James answers, knowing that Qrow knew better than it just being a question of medication. He hadn't been very good about hiding his stress and fear from the other man over the course of the last few days. James didn't know exactly how much Qrow knew, but he knew more than enough. Enough that it made James feel a wave of relief at the excuse. "You mind?"

"Not at all." Qrow stretches his hand out towards James, palm up so that the keys could be passed off between them.

James picked the keys up, and placed them gingerly in the center of Qrow's hand in an attempt to avoid making any physical contact between the two of them.

The two left the apartment, with James getting in on the passenger's side and Qrow taking the wheel and driving them out for breakfast and then to Vale so that Qrow could collect the few things that he needed for the night ahead.

For the entire ride, aside from the occasional question about whether they should stop somewhere, the car was silent. James didn't want to talk. He didn't want to close his eyes and see his car barreling into a railing. He didn't want to imagine what would happen after everything fell apart.

Occasionally, Qrow would ask him a question, and James would answer, though his answers were always short. Never anything that could further betray how he was feeling. What he was afraid of.

They reached the Xiao Long-Rose house soon enough, and Qrow parked them in the driveway. He hesitated before getting out, looking at James. James didn't meet his gaze, that morning still fresh in his memory. He heard Qrow's voice.

"Do you want to come in?"

James' mouth was dry.

"I…" He tried to speak, but gave in with a sigh. "Sure."

Silently, James followed Qrow inside and waited by the door, not wanting himself to get into anyone's way. It wasn't what he wanted. As he waited, he could overhear Qrow laughing and talking to Taiyang and Summer, explaining his presence as him having forgotten some things that he'd needed for the weekend.

A dog sat down next to James' right leg. James looked down at the corgi, hesitated, and kneeled down to pat the dog's head, earning a paw on his wrist.

Qrow stepped back into view, and looked down at James and Zwei. "Hey buddy." He greeted the dog, earning a happy bark. James stood back up and looked at Qrow, who simply held up a backpack. "I got everything."

"Right." James shoves his right hand into his pocket, trying to push back his nerves. His blue eyes flicked away from Qrow then to the door, then back to Qrow. "We should get going."

"Lighten up, Jimmy. We're just going to work."

"It's James, for one," he started. "Secondly, we are on a schedule."

"Whatever." Qrow chuckles as they head out the door and get into the car. He seats himself, while James started listing off the rest of the schedule that he'd put together for them. Driving by the gas stations for the last time before the job, then back to James' house to do final prep, than to the warehouse. Lunch was worked in wherever it fit.

The two drive back to Atlas, and James just kept himself focused on the night ahead as he ran through his schedule a thousand times over. Every piece had to be perfect.

The next several hours were a blur to James. Occasionally he and Qrow would talk about things, but nothing ever really stuck that well in his mind. It wasn't his focus.

It was four o'clock when they arrived back at James' house. James took the time to change out of his street clothes and into the all black that he'd need over the course of the night. Underneath his heavy black sweater, James was careful to wear a long-sleeved blue shirt.

He was going to boil.

James went downstairs, slipping into the kitchen to see Qrow dressed in all black as well. Their eyes met again. James nodded to Qrow, then looked towards his office. "Last order of business."

Qrow raised an eyebrow, but followed after James into the office. James stepped behind his desk and knelt down out of Qrow's sight, leaving Qrow to crane his neck in an attempt to figure out what James was doing.

James carefully unlocked a small safe under the desk, opening it up and peering inside to see two cases. One, a long steel case, and the other the briefcase that he'd been given the other day by Glynda. James stood up, set the two cases down on the desk and looked up at Qrow.

"Security policy." He explained as he opened up the newer of the two cases and removed his pistol. "We'll want these."

"How are we supposed to be getting those around unnoticed?" Qrow asked, opening up the longer case and peering inside. "People will notice us carrying these things."

"Briefcase." James answered, in his case. "And there's a guitar case in the closet that's been retrofitted to carry that shotgun."

"I can deal with that." Qrow says, picking up the shotgun and weighing it in his hands. He looked up at James, who was setting the handgun back into its case and locking it in. James went to the tiny closet that he kept set aside so that he could get Qrow the guitar case.

He put the case down next to Qrow and stretched, readying himself for the night ahead. "Once you're ready, we should be getting out of here."

"Right." Qrow mumbles. James watched the shorter of the pair, watched as Qrow opened up the guitar case and put the shotgun inside.

That sealed it.

This was happening.

Half an hour later, the two of them were splitting. They went to James' car, and Qrow hesitated, looking up at James. "They said no private vehicles, didn't they?."

"They did." James looked at Qrow, slipping on a light jacket that wouldn't draw any attention to him as he rode buses that evening. "There'll be a bus coming by in fifteen minutes. There's a stop at the end of this road, and there's one down the hill, same bus. You go to the stop at the end of the road here, I'll board further down."

Qrow nods. "Alright." He looks up at James, their eyes meeting. "You're ready for this?"

"I am." James mumbled the words. "We're going to go out, get this job done right, and we're going to get back to the warehouse and home."

He wasn't sure whether he was trying to convince himself or Qrow as to what was happening.

They waited ten minutes. James closed the house, locking the door and headed out to the bus stop. He left Qrow at the stop at the end of the street, heading down the hill and waiting at the bus stop for the bus to roll up.

When it arrived, James boarded and seated himself across from Qrow in the back.

He reached into his pocket.

Texted Roman.

'Eagle One in transit.'

James straightened his back, leaning back in his seat and settling with his briefcase in his lap in an attempt to make himself comfortable for the road ahead. He looked over at Qrow from the corner of his eye, giving Qrow the signal to follow his lead once it was time for them to get off.

They might have ridden for fifteen minutes before James reached up, pulling the cord that would bring the bus to a stop at a bus stop that wasn't anywhere near the warehouse that they were going to be meeting at. James was the first to unboard the bus, with Qrow following after. James turned, heading down the sidewalk.

Qrow made sure to stay several feet behind James at all times until it was clear that they were off of the main street. "Hey, Jim." He raised his voice. "Why are we getting off down here?"

"Because people don't really know about the warehouse." James answered back, keeping his volume under tight control. "It's better off this way."

Slowly, the warehouse began to peek into view, its metallic roof gleaming in the sun, and looking as though it were all but completely abandoned. Qrow jogged up ahead, joining James at his side and stopped dead in his tracks so that he could look up at the warehouse himself.

James heard Qrow swallow. He pushed back the compulsion to follow after and do the same.

He spoke up.

"Nervous?"

"Yeah." Qrow said, blinking twice and looking down so that he wouldn't have to meet James' eyes. For some reason, the fact that Qrow was also visibly shaken didn't make him feel any better about the situation. "I've been here before, but..."

"Yeah." James mumbles. "I agree."

"It's just different."

"Yeah."

James stood up tall, squaring his shoulders and put his hands behind his back, military.

Inhaled.

Took the first step forward.

Then another.

Qrow followed after, and James was the first of the pair to reach the warehouse. Qrow watched as James raised a hand, knocking at the steel so that someone could open the giant door at the front and let them in.

It was barely a minute, but from the other side, Junior slid the door open. James and Junior's eyes met for a moment. Junior nodded, and stepped out of the way, and soon James and Qrow were inside, with Junior closing the door behind them.

James spoke. "We late?"

"Not at all." Junior answered. "Car's waiting for you already."

"Which one?" James asked, looking over at Qrow for a moment. Qrow stepped to the side, looking amongst the three cars that were hidden inside of the warehouse, wondering which of them would be for them.

"One on the right." Junior says. "Keys should be in the ignition. Best go get ready."

"Got it." James answered, looking over at Qrow and gesturing to the car. Together, they walked over, with James going straight to the passenger's side seat so that he could pull out a heavy black duffel bag that would hopefully contain their entire kit that was going to carry them through this job.

He unzipped it hastily, pushed the sides open, and looked up at Qrow. "C'mere."

Qrow approached, looked into the bag, and watched as James began to remove two older license plates that looked like they'd been used before. He also watched as James removed two sets of magnets. "Front and back." James held the set out to Qrow, making a point to not touch the magnets with his right side.

That was a mess that he just didn't want to have to deal with.

Qrow took the license plates, putting them over the ones that were already bolted into place on the car and watched as James began to carefully sort through the entire bag of supplies, as though he needed to be sure that every piece of it was ready for this job.

Silent, Qrow leaned against the car and watched as James counted everything, and recounted everything. "Is everything we need there?" Qrow finally asked. "Figure that's important to know."

"Looks like it." James mumbled as he gently lifted a small bomb, flipping it over in his hand so that he could read the back in case there was something new that he needed to know. He'd dealt with this sort of stuff when he was younger, but generally explosives weren't his area of expertise.

Though he could blast a vault open pretty easily if the need arose.

James lifted a pistol that was very much unlike the replacement for his old weapon, weighing it in his hands for a moment before looking up at Qrow and offering it to him, handle first. "You'll want this."

He saw the way Qrow's mouth opened a little bit, then closed again. Saw the way that Qrow's eyes hardened and shone like rusted metal that had somehow been polished.

He didn't like thinking of Qrow as metal.

Cold, hard metal.

Like him.

That wasn't Qrow.

"Thanks, Jim." Qrow answered, taking the weapon and weighing it in his hands. He turned his head, looked up at the black SUV that was going to be their ride for the rest of this job and looked it over, clicking his tongue.

James looked between the car and one of the bombs, which he was slipping back into the bag and hesitated. Turned his head to look at one of the nearby cars to check for any sign of life. He vaguely made out the outline of a bowler hat peeking up over the window of the one directly beside his and Qrow's.

"Roman."

Roman popped up from behind the door of his car, rolled down the window, and leaned forward to meet James' gaze, winking at him. "What's up big guy?"

"Have the cars already been-"

"Set the charges this morning, General." Roman answered. "You guys are in car one. Don't forget it."

James nodded, zipped the bag back shut and slid it into the backseat of the SUV before standing upright himself. "We won't."

He turned his eye to Qrow, and hesitated. He wanted to reach out, to tell him that it was time for them to head out, to tell him that they had work to do.

James couldn't find that precious mettle within himself.

Qrow decides to take the lead this time, stepping away from the SUV so that he could get himself ready for this job. Deciding to leave Qrow to his devices, James walked towards a small staircase that he and Junior had once constructed against one of the walls. He reached the top and pressed against the wall to get a view outside, pushing out some of the metal so that he could watch as Glynda and Winter slowly arrived. Soon they'd be ready for this job too.

Soon he and Qrow would be getting into their car and taking the trip out to their two gas stations. He was sure that he was going to be able to trust Qrow behind the wheel, much more than he would be able to trust himself in that place. Things weren't so simple for him anymore. A year ago he would have happily gone ahead and taken on this job himself.

But now? A partner was necessary. Regardless of what part of the mission he was on.

James leaned against the wall and slid down. Tilted his head back against the cool steel of the warehouse and tried to relax. Tried to forget that a year ago he'd gone through this same situation. Tried to forget the look of a median running along the side of his car, or the sound of his own heartbeat in his ears, or Roman's voice coming through the radio.

No.

This time was going to be different.

James stood up, and carefully descended the stairs, able to hear the heaviness of his right leg as opposed to his left as he stepped down. He pushed that thought back.

He could deal with his own issues later on, once the job was done and everyone was home safe and sound.

If that happened.

He went to the passenger's seat of the car, pulled the door open, and climbed up inside to see that Qrow was there, carefully going through the motions of adjusting his seat, the car mirrors, and generally ensuring that everything was up to par for his side of the job. James did the same, just adjusting his seat so that his legs would feel less cramped.

Qrow opened his mouth to speak. "Any idea when we're going to be getting out of here?"

"When everyone else does, probably." James answered. "We'll probably be out first though-"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." James watched as Glynda began getting her supplies ready, checking them over and climbing into her and Winter's car once she was done to make some sort of phone call. Probably contacting Ozpin. It was for the better that they were in contact with them before the job happened anyways. That would be how they ensured that nothing went directly to hell.

In the car beside theirs, Junior got in, taking a seat behind the wheel and leaving Roman shifting about and preparing himself. Roman rolled the window down again and peered into James and Qrow's car. "You two ready? It's gonna be quite the day."

"Yeah." James calls back, rolling down his own window so that he wouldn't have to shout too much. "Want us to head out?"

"Please do!"

And so that was it. James turned his head to Qrow, and simply nodded. His and Qrow's eyes met for just a moment, and then Qrow was turning the key in the ignition and the two of them were on their way to the first of their two locations that they were supposed to be hitting that night. All that had to happen now, was that they had to get there and back in one piece.


	12. Punch-Clock

When James had been a younger man, the feeling of his heart pounding against his chest had always been a welcome one. He loved the adrenaline rush, the way that he could feel energy surging through his veins when he was about to get in over his head. Rush into battle. Make mistakes. He loved the smell of gasoline and gunpowder, and the feeling that he could be like all the heroes in the movies.

James wasn't the same man anymore though. Adrenaline and power fantasies had been replaced with calculated moves and practiced forms.

As it turned out, robbing a gas station left him feeling vastly different than he would have felt a year before. And even more different from it would have made him feel ten years before.

Qrow was outside, walking between pumps and disposing of small bombs in the trash cans that were between gas pumps. James knew that. As for him, he was in the back seat of the SUV pulling on a black mask that would hide his features when he went inside.

The whole thing was ready.

They were going to do this.

It was just time to do it.

Qrow got into the driver's seat again, and James carefully passed the shotgun that he'd gotten for Qrow earlier to the shorter man. He swallowed, watching as Qrow carefully loaded the weapon and trained his eyes on the area.

"Ready, Jim?"

James hesitated.

Nodded.

Stood up.

"Ready."

With that, James pushed the door open and crossed the parking lot in a half-sprint, pushed his way inside, and turned his gun onto the cashier inside before throwing the now emptied duffel bag from earlier onto the counter with a swing of one arm.

"Everything in the register!" James shouts the words, not used to hearing himself like this in so long. His life had been silence for so long.

Behind the desk, was a teenage girl, probably not much older than Winter was. Her eyes went wide, and he watched her mouth open up as if to say something. James didn't give her a chance, cocking the pistol and waiting, reaching onto the counter to grab a pack of gum and tossing it in the girl's direction. "Ring it up, then put everything in the bag." Instead of shouting this time, it was a growled command.

She obeyed his orders, scrambling for the pack of gum and ringing it up. James felt a rush of satisfaction at the sound of the cash register opening with a quiet ding.

As the girl began putting money into the bag with shaking hands, James felt his heart clench for a moment at the realization of what he was doing. This poor girl thought that he would kill her if she didn't listen.

The gun wasn't loaded, James reminded himself.

That would probably get him killed, but it was for the better, James reminded himself.

At least there wasn't the possibility of blood on his hands, James reminded himself..

James kept his eyes on the girl, watching her empty the register and hesitated. He could ask for the vault, he thought, but that gave her the chance to press the police button that he knew was under the counter just out of sight. He couldn't risk that.

He stopped, watching the girl carefully and spoke. "As soon as I leave this door, do yourself a favor and run as far away from this store as you can, understand?"

"Sir?"

"You'll regret it otherwise."

With that said, James reached out, zipped it shut, and sprinted out the door and to the car. As he approached, he realized that the front seat was left open intentionally, and Qrow had left the window in the back seat open.

James got close, throwing the bag through the window as he pulled the door open and immediately back closed once he was inside. He looked to the door to see that the girl had left the store, and was running across the street.

Good.

She should be safe there.

"Go." James says the word, looking back over his shoulder and listening closely for any sign of police. "We'll detonate the charges once we're out of the way. We have to go."

"What the... James, Did you-"

"I got the money, I did my job." James snaps back, just wanting desperately to get out of the area so that they could move onto the next job. Qrow doesn't wait any longer, pushing his foot to the gas pedal and beginning their trip away from the gas station. Qrow was about to open his mouth to say something but when he did, James was on the phone.

"Mascara." James' voice was hard, half-panicked. "This is General. Target 1 is cleared and we are in transit to our second target."

"Have you blown it yet?"

"Not yet." James looked back over at Qrow. "We're trying to get out of the area before we do that."

"Good thinking, General. Stay safe out there."

"We're trying." With that, James hung up and Qrow spoke . "Do you want us to stop for the plate switch?"

"After the second one." James pushed his seat back, creating a pathway for him to move into the back seat of the car where Qrow could hear the older man unzipping the duffel bag and opening up the guitar case, shoving the money that he'd gotten inside into the foam so that it wouldn't get lost. He didn't know how much money was in the case now, and he had a feeling that he wasn't going to be able to find out until they split the money from the job.

That was fine with him.

"Got it." Qrow turned off of the main road and onto a side one so that they would be less likely to be noticed in their travel to the next location. James reached out for the side of the car, gripping onto the door so that he could stay steady instead of falling or getting hurt. He could feel the plastic bending under his hand, and for the first time, James didn't let go. Instead, he let the plastic bend until there was a crack.

Qrow heard the crack, and looked back over his shoulder to see James there for a moment. He opened his mouth to say something, but as soon as James realized that Qrow was looking at him and not the road because you never take your eyes off of the road don't you know that? James straightened up, barked at Qrow. "Eyes on the road!"

The smaller man's rusty eyes went wide for a moment, and then Qrow faced forward. "Shit, Jim, you aren't normally like this."

"Normally, we aren't risking getting killed." James growled the words. "I just want us to get this done, Qrow."

"When are you going to blow it?"

"When we get close to the next station." James says, rooting around the back seat and looking for the remote that had been in the bag earlier so that he could detonate the bombs that Qrow had left at the last gas station. "If we do it that way, police, fire, ambulances are all going there instead of paying attention to us."

"Shit." The word was barely audible in Qrow's throat, coming out sounding more ragged than usual. "That's diabolical."

"That." James checked his gun, opening up the chamber for a moment to check that there was nothing there before looking out the window. "Is business."

Slowly, the second gas station came into view, and James looked at Qrow. "Circle the block once."

"You sure?"

"Do it." James shifted in his seat, readying himself to sprint out of the SUV as soon as it rolled to a stop. "Buys us time."

"Alright."

James pressed the button, and in the distance he could hear the blasts of explosions. Panic gripped him, and for a moment refused to let go. When he started to see smoke rise in the distance, that was his sign that everything had worked. He hoped that the girl back at the station had gotten far enough away. That she'd been smart enough not to go back inside.

Oh well.

He couldn't think about that.

That was for later.

Now, he had a job to do and he wasn't going to let himself forget that fact.

Qrow circled the block and pulled into the parking lot. Once again, the two went through the same methods that they'd used earlier in the night.

Coordinated.

Organized.

Dancelike.

He hoped that news hadn't made it to other stores in the area that they were being attacked yet. He didn't know how the other two cars were doing, after all.

For just a moment, before James ran inside, he and Qrow locked eyes from behind their masks. James felt his mouth go dry as the reality of the situation sank back in. He didn't have time for this.

Feelings were for later. Pain was for later. When the adrenaline wore off, that would be when it got bad. But for now, he had one focus. One mind. One job.

James tore his eyes away from Qrow, and turned on his heel before running inside of the store, where he saw that the cashier had seen them, already hiding down behind the counter. The sprinting man held one arm out in front of him, leading with his right and smashing through the door. The door opened violently, and James found himself become vaguely aware of the glass shattering as he threw the bag onto the counter, and pulled his gun, false-cocking it for the second time that night.

This time, behind the counter, there wasn't a scared teenager. This time, it was a man, probably about his age. A man who had probably already gone ahead and called the police on them. Time was limited. James raised his voice, immediately jumping into a shout that belonged on a battlefield instead of a gas station. "Money in the bag!"

James looked back over his shoulder, checking for police, then back at the man behind the counter. "Now!" James pushed the bag further across the counter and tossed a pack of gum at the man, the same way that he done already. The man looked down at the pack of gum, and swallowed, realizing that James was serious.

The man picked up the pack of gum, and scanned it in, slowly ringing it up, and then James realized that the man was stalling, probably buying time until the police arrived.

Ok then.

James could handle that.

In a rush of adrenaline, James pushed himself across the counter, hopping up and pushing the raven haired cashier out of the way before reaching into the register, ripping out the tray with his right hand and throwing it into the bag. The man moved to stop him, but James only lashed out, switching his grip on his pistol before driving its butt straight into the man's jaw to knock him out without thinking about it.

Shit.

James zipped the bag shut and looked down at the man. That was a new situation for him to deal with. James leaned down, picked the man up and tried to support him as best as he could before dragging the man as far back in the convenience store as he possibly could, getting him into a tiny bathroom in the very back that should be far from the blast radius for the actual bombs.

They could just not blast them, he supposed.

Or they could wait.

No.

That wasn't good enough.

James strapped the bag over himself, and lifted up the man, balancing him on his shoulders as he ran out the door, running to the car. Inside, he could see Qrow giving him a funny look. James didn't have time for this. "Open the door!"

Qrow got out, ran around the side and opened the car door, and James placed the man inside as carefully as he could before pulling the door shut behind him, crouching down on the floor. A shot of pain rushed up James' leg, into his hip and up his spine. Qrow sprinted back to the side of the car, and then they were moving, right onto the interstate.

"What the hell Jimmy?!" Qrow shouted at James, who was ready to spring and attack at any moment. This was going very poorly now. He'd have to fix things. The pain in his leg didn't help. "What's with the guy!"

"He wouldn't give the money." James answered, looking ahead. "We're ditching him with the plates at the farmstand, got it?"

"Fine!" Qrow yells back. "But he better not rat us out!"

"He won't!" James tries to control his volume and tone as they sped away from the station. He reaches into the area where he'd left the first detonator, grabbing up his twin and tossing it into the front seat carefully so that he could blast the gas station once the cashier- Tukson, the man's nametag said, was dropped off safely.

He could make out the sound of Qrow muttering some sort of obscenity under his breath, but tried to push it back. He needed to focus on the mission at hand. Not focus on the fact that things could possibly fall apart at any point. Or that it was the drive away that had almost gotten him killed, or the fact that he was in pain, or anything else. No, they had a farmstand to get to. As soon as they stopped, he was going to get out, drop Tukson, and get rid of the plates.

Priorities.

Right.

Priorities.

James braced himself against the door, looking forward as Qrow sped towards the farmstand that they'd stopped at a few days before. He swallowed, and when the car skidded to a stop, he winced then forced the back door open, pulled Tukson out carefully, and rested the man against the side of the farmstand carefully. Someone would notice him from the street.

He turned, seeing that Qrow was removing the back fake plate, and James went to the front, ripping down the steel plate with his left hand and got into the van, tossing the plate into the back and climbing into it, beginning to transfer the money from the latest job into the guitar case so that they could get it out unnoticed. That was the last thing on their checklist.

They just had to make it back in one piece.

Qrow got in.

James didn't hesitate to speak as he slid the shotgun that he'd given to Qrow into the guitar

case. "Detonator's in the passenger's seat. Blast it."

"You sure Jimmy?"

"Do it." James looked up, shoving the case closed and beginning to strip out of the all-black sweater that he'd put on earlier, shoving it into the black duffel bag that he had decided was going to carry their laundry as well as the briefcase that his gun had been given to him in.

Qrow took the detonator and hit the button. James zipped the duffel bag closed, and climbed into the front passenger's seat of the car. In the distance, James could hear the sound of more explosions. Something unnamable clenched him for a moment.

They had to get out of there.

James looked at Qrow. "Get us down by the river." He said. "We can take the walking trail, get to a bus stop, and ride back to the warehouse that way."

James saw Qrow nod, knuckles white as he gripped the steering wheel tightly. James didn't say anything, he figured that Qrow had done this sort of job before. He was probably used to these sort of jobs, James told himself. It was better that Qrow was driving them back to the warehouse. Qrow finally spoke after a long minute or two. "Any sign we're being followed?"

"No." James mumbles the word, shifting uncomfortably in his seat as he stripped off the pair of black leather gloves that he'd put on that morning and reached into his pocket, removing one of his customary white gloves to slide back onto his prosthetic. The fact that Qrow wasn't exactly able to look away from the road made him feel a bit more confident as he did this, though not by much. "Just get us to the river so that we can ditch the car."

"Any suggestions for what we should look for?" Qrow asks. "I figure you have a way to keep us secret."

"Tree cover." James says. "And we'll probably need a minute to get everything in order before we catch a bus and get back to the warehouse." James reached into his pocket, removed his phone and turned it on, seeing that he'd gotten texts from others to let him know that their parts were going smoothly. Roman and Junior had made it back to the warehouse, and Glynda was reporting that things were going well for her and Winter.

James began to write out a message of his own, hoping that it'd be enough to assure the others that he was coming back in one piece, the same as Qrow was.

"On the left look good?" Qrow asked, and James looked up from the half-typed message to see that there was a small boat landing that had probably been set out for kayakers. James shifted in his seat, sitting upright and scanning the area quickly. "Back in so that the back of the car is facing the river. That way we can pretend that we're getting a boat out."

"You sure that'll work Jimmy?"

"Do you have a better idea?"

Qrow chuckled, pulled off the road, and followed James' instructions. "Point taken."

Once the car parked, James was unbuckling his seatbelt and getting out, going to the back and pulling open the door on the back seat so that he could grab their bags. "You're wearing streets under that, right?"

"Yeah." Qrow answered, sliding his shirt off over his head and tossing it into James' direction. James took it, and shoved it into the duffel bag that the rest of his clothes had been in. Once he was ready, Qrow was hopping out of his side of the car. He reached into his pocket and tossed his phone into the back seat, and James did the same, sending off the message that announced he and Qrow were on the way back, along with an instruction for Roman and Junior that said to wait ten minutes before exploding the car.

James looked at Qrow, and held out the guitar case for the man to take. Qrow reached out, taking it, and James slung the duffel bag over his shoulder, hoping that he looked casual enough that him carrying supplies from the gym would be believable. Qrow could pull off a guitar case, but James wasn't sure that he looked the right part for what he was doing.

There was a moment of silence. James swallowed, and looked down the walking trail, then back at Qrow. "I think we have something to do."

"Yeah." Qrow said, gesturing down the trail and James nodded, starting along the way while Qrow walked alongside him. "So we take the first bus we can find, right?"

"Yeah." James said. "Most of them will bring us in the right direction."

"Alright." Qrow shifted the guitar case in his grip, walking alongside James and looking out at the river once in a while in an attempt to distract himself from the fact that he and James were actually making their way back from the job. He didn't know which bag had the money, and he had a strong feeling that James wasn't going to be telling him.

"So what do we do once we get back?"

James sighed. "I don't know." He walked carefully, trying to ease the pain in his leg and hips, for the first time allowing himself to slip his right hand into his pocket since he felt more comfortable with it there than out in the open at the moment. "Count the money. Then we're out of there for the night."

"And after that?" Qrow laughed. "I get the feeling I'm not making it back to Vale tonight."

"Right." James felt his expression tighten as he realized what was coming next. "I have a house."

"I know." Qrow said. "Wanna get dinner?"

"Pizza sounds good." James answered, absentmindedly. He didn't want to cook that night. Not for the life of him. "But for now, we need to get back and see that everyone is safe."

"Right. You know-" Qrow cut himself off, and when James looked up he realized that there was a bus stop no more than twenty feet ahead of them. Qrow looked at James, then the stop. "We don't know each other, right?"

"Right." James mumbled, looking further down. "You wait here, I'll-"

"You don't have to do that, Jimmy." Qrow said. "I don't think it'll matter."

James shook his head. "If you think there isn't a manhunt for us, you're wrong. We're better off split right now."

Qrow hesitated. "Ok."

"Alright." James mumbled the word. "I'll see you soon, ok Qrow?"

"Ok."

With that, James continued down the trail as Qrow stepped up to the bus stop, making himself comfortable in its shade. For a moment, James didn't know whether he was going to see Qrow again after that. He didn't know if one of them would be spotted, or would get into trouble.

James shoved the worry back. He couldn't deal with that right now. He had to get back to the warehouse so that there could be a payout.

He couldn't afford to worry too much.

James looked back over his shoulder to see Qrow, standing there at the bus stop still. Worry still gripped him. James frowned, clenched his hands into fists, and just walked. He was going to find a bus stop, he was going to take it, and soon he and Qrow were going to be getting off and making the walk back to the warehouse by foot.

That was the part James really didn't look forward to.

After that, he wasn't sure how they were getting back to his house for the night. He figured they'd have to figure it out as they went. Maybe call a taxi to get them there.

James didn't know how long he walked, just that it was several minutes. For the entire time, he tried hard to keep his mind empty and focus on boarding a bus. Ignore his pain. Up ahead, he could see a bus crossing into view.

There was a bus stop, nearly 40 feet away. James frowned, steeled himself, and began the run to the stop, racing the bus there. He couldn't afford to miss this bus. The stakes were too high if he did, and he didn't want to leave Qrow to head to the warehouse alone.

Even less, he didn't want to be anywhere near the car when they finally exploded it. If there were going to be cops in the area, he didn't want to be there.

James sprinted to the stop, pulling up just in time to stop the driver from rolling past the stop. James reached into his pocket, removed a few coins to cover his fare, and stepped onto the bus, sitting down on the first empty seat near the door.

If he had to make a run like that again, he had the strong feeling that he was going to collapse. He'd had to run a lot today, and his body wasn't exactly used to him running a lot these days. James' leg and hips were already aching, but this last run had only exasperated it and turned the ache into a burn.

The bus began to move, and James squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, shifting the bag in his lap and hugging it close to his body in a way that looked like it was more for comfort than to protect it.

James reopened his eyes, and leaned his head against the cool window, finally feeling like he'd be able to breathe if it wasn't for the pain shooting up his body.

He watched every tree as the bus passed by, and when he saw Qrow at the bus stop with the guitar, James was relieved.

Qrow got on, paid his fee at the door, and stood near the seat where James was. "Do you mind?" Qrow asked, gesturing to the guitar, then to the empty seat next to James'.

"I get off in a few stops." James mumbled, looking up at Qrow before stiffly shifting in his seat to make room for the guitar case. Qrow set the hard case down, and simply focused on not falling as the bus moved, holding tight onto one of the handles that hung from the bus ceiling.

They didn't talk. They focused on the ride ahead. James reached into his pocket, finding his regular phone and turning it on, checking that this bus was going to bring them by the warehouse.

It was about seven stops up, which was annoying, but it wasn't as though they were riding through the entire route. They'd have to get to the warehouse through the back, but that was fine.

It meant that their actual stop was at a grocery store, which made them getting off at the same time less of a concern.

When the bus finally pulled up to the store, James pulled the cord to create a dinging sound. The bus rolled to a stop in front of the warehouse, and then James and Qrow were getting off.

James started in the direction of the store, and to his relief, Qrow followed soon after. He walked behind the store, through the parking lot to find an hold foot trail that had fallen abandoned for the most part, aside from the few people that passed by the area looking for places to smoke or looking to get back to apartment buildings.

As soon as they were out of view, James dropped his bag off of his shoulder and took a seat on a large rock that had been strategically placed to keep cars off of the trail.

He leaned forward, buried his face in his hands, and pushed back the desire to cry. To break. To let the pain take over the world. Qrow stopped dead in his tracks, and looked down at James.

"Jimmy?"

"I just need a minute." James mumbled, not sure what to do. "Pain."

Qrow's eyes widened for a moment, then narrowed again. He took a half-step back, looked around the area, and then back at James once he knew that nobody was watching them.

James looked up at Qrow, who seemed to be instinctively patting his pockets in search of something. When Qrow found it, James saw that he was holding a flask of something out for James.

"Take it." Qrow's voice was gravelly. "We can get you something when we get back."

James reached out, took the flask and uncapped it, drinking deeply from it, ignoring the burn in his throat, and hoping that it'd be enough to make him feel like he could walk back.

He took several minutes to let the alcohol take effect. He felt the pain in his hip slowly start to ebb away, and then James stood up, picked up the bag, and began the walk back to the warehouse.

Stopping himself from limping was the hardest part by far.

It made the walk feel like it took hours, despite the fact that it was mere minutes. They approached the warehouse from the back, and Qrow took the lead this time, going to the back door and knocking on the sheet metal side.

As usual, Junior got the door and James stepped inside, immediately leaning against the wall and dropping his bag down at his side. "Go to Roman." James mumbles to Qrow.

Qrow nodded, and went to Roman. Junior stood at James' side, looked him up and down for a moment.

"Need help?"

"Can't walk." James answered as he felt Junior wrap an arm around him, acting half as a crutch for the time being and getting him to the centre of the warehouse, where a couple of seats had been set up for them.

James slumped down into a seat, and looked around the room to see everyone.

They all looked like hell.

James forced a smile.

"Hey."

Winter was the first to move. She stepped towards James, reached out, and James opened his arms, sitting upright and hugging her close for just a moment. He could feel her grip on his shirt, and that left a pang in his chest.

"You made it back." She whispered.

"I did." James pulled away now, releasing Winter, who stood up straight and fixed her hair. He could see tears beading in her eyes, and wanted to say something, but decided against it. The last thing that James wanted was her feeling embarrassed.

James swallowed and straightened himself up, letting his eyes scan the few in the room. He could feel their eyes on him. He reached back, braced himself on the back of his chair and he stood. Put on a brave face. Forced a wave of pain back.

"We should get this money counted, shouldn't we?" James smiled at the group, trying hard to hide his pain. He stepped forward, wished he had something to help take the pressure off of his leg, and he looked over the small table where three bags had been left open.

A designer handbag, a messenger bag, and a guitar case. If anything, it said a lot about the way that the three sets had to make it back to the warehouse.

Glynda pulled her seat closer to the table, and picked up a pile of bills that someone had placed on the table. James watched as she sat in front of him, flicking from bill to bill. Across the table, Roman was sitting cross-legged in his chair, passing bills from a pile in his right hand to one in his left and James could make out the sound of him counting the dollars under his breath.

Qrow looked up at James, and smiled. "Wanna count, Jimmy?"

James nodded, pulled up a seat, and began counting. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do or say to Qrow, or how they were supposed to get back to his house now that the job was done and he didn't feel like he could walk anymore.

He picked up a pile of bills, and carefully James began to fold the bills down over his thumb, mentally keeping track of the sum as he went. He felt the tap of Junior's hand on his shoulder and looked back at him, keeping the number 210 in mind.

"What is it?" James asked, looking up at the taller man.

Junior dropped his voice. "Do you want a place to stay for the night?" James opened his mouth to say something, then his eyes darted over to Qrow, who was watching them.

"I want to say yes." James said. "But my medication is at my house and Qrow needs to be taken back to Vale."

Junior raised a brow, his eyes flicking from James to Qrow and for a moment, James couldn't make out what the other man was thinking. What he wanted to say. What he was speculating on.

"I think we're ordering dinner." Junior offered. "You two could join us for that, take a cab back to your house if that works for you."

James thought, looked to Roman, Qrow, then back to Junior. "That sounds like it could be good. Are you going to get the car before this is all done?"

"I think so." Junior said, his eyes meeting Roman's. "Think about it?"

"I will." James nodded, then looked down to the bills, going back to counting.

By the time he'd finished, he counted four hundred and fifty four dollars in his pile. This wasn't the big payout on the job, that would be later. This was just their pocket change.

In the end, they had come around with a bit over two thousand dollars, split six ways. The group started saying their goodbyes, sure that they'd have a meeting again soon for the big payout.

James was sure he'd hugged everyone there in the warehouse before he left. Said his thank yous and goodbyes for the night.

And when Junior arrived with his car, James had been ready to go already, Qrow in tow. The ride back to the apartment on Candle Street was a relief all its own.


	13. Elevation

Qrow was ready to drop at any second. He wanted to go to bed, he wanted to rest, he wanted to pretend as though the day's stresses hadn't existed and he wanted to pretend as though there wasn't a manhunt for whoever had gone and destroyed five gas stations across the city.

He was more than exhausted, and that was despite the fact that he'd had the easier job between him and James.

And so now that he was stumbling into Roman and Junior's apartment, he wanted to curl up on the pair's couch and go straight to sleep the same way that he had a few times in the past. He didn't know when he'd be able to go to bed tonight, or when he and James would be going back to the house.

However, coming to Roman and Junior's meant that he was going to be fed, and considering that his takeaway from this job hadn't been enough to pay off Raven's bills, he was more than happy to accept a free meal. He didn't know what he was going to do, but he was just hoping that the rest of the payout would come soon.

At the door, Qrow slipped out of his shoes and crossed their apartment, heading first for the bathroom so that he could take care of himself and clean his face. He felt gross, like there was a grime of sweat that wasn't going to be coming off of his body until he could take a shower. Or twelve.

Probably at least twelve.

When he came back, he saw that James had stretched across the couch, his eyes squeezed shut in pain and his fingers in a white-knuckled grip around a pillow. On a loveseat, Roman was resting against Junior, who had his head tilted back against the wall. Roman's legs dangled off of the side, and for a moment, Qrow didn't know where he was supposed to sit.

Qrow hesitated, and seated himself on the floor against the side of the couch near where James' head and shoulders were. "Hey Jimmy."

James cracked an eye open. "Qrow." His voice was tight, and for a moment, Qrow wondered where the other man was. What he was experiencing.

"Have you guys ordered dinner yet?" Qrow scratched at his jaw as he asked this question. Behind him, he could feel James shifting about on the couch, probably about to sit up. "Or were you waiting on me?"

"We haven't ordered yet." Roman spoke up now, eyes closed and a gentle smile stretched across his face. "Figured it was best to wait."

Junior spoke now. "And we're all tired and wanted a minute."

James grunted in affirmation, and Qrow realized that James had sat up and left enough room for him to sit. For a moment, Qrow wondered what James had just put himself through for his sake. Whether James had just sent a shot of pain up his spine. Or whether James had changed how they were supposed to do the job for his sake.

Qrow never really knew with James.

He took the seat- he wasn't going to be an ass when he knew that James was in pain. He made himself comfortable, sinking down into the seat and blinked, leaning his head back for a moment and thinking of dinner and bed.

The fact that he was going to be spending the night at James' house didn't even register to him as a thing that was happening. It just wasn't a concern.

A large part of Qrow just really needed to sleep at this point.

Roman shifted in his seat, pushing back against Junior so that he could sit upright. Qrow watched as Roman pushed his orange hair out of his face and how the hair somehow managed to fall back into place perfectly. "Want me to put in an order?"

"Yes please." Junior mumbled from beside the thinner man. "You know what I like."

Roman laughed, and looked between Qrow and James. "What do you two want?"

"Uh, General Tso's." Qrow said for himself. He knew the chances were that the food that he ended up with would have no spice to it, but he didn't mind. He was mostly just concerned with getting some food into his stomach at this point.

Beside him, James grumbled something so low that it wasn't possible to make out. He watched as James pinched the space between his brows at the bridge of his nose, then inhaled deeply. "I'm not hungry."

Roman blinked twice, and cocked his head. "Alright." With that, he stepped into another room and made the call, leaving Qrow, James, and Junior alone in the living room.

Qrow shifted in his seat slightly to face James. He dropped his volume so that he wouldn't end up being overheard. "Is there a reason you aren't eating?" Qrow tried hard to keep the worry from affecting his voice. "Jim are you-"

"I'll be fine." James frowned, shifting about in his seat and trying to make himself more comfortable so that he didn't feel the pain shooting up his spine as he sat. "I just don't think I'll be able to eat anything for a bit."

"Do you-"

"I don't." James mumbled. "When I get home I'll take something."

"Right."

Roman stepped back into the living room from the kitchen, with a bottle of something in hand. Qrow watched as he went to James' side, and reached out, requesting James' hand. James relented, placing his flesh and blood hand in Roman's.

Roman turned the hand over and forced the fingers open before forcing the bottle into James' grip. "Take some."

"Thank you." James sighed the words, taking the bottle and immediately unscrewing it. Qrow watched as James poured three tabs into his empty right hand, and went to swallow them dry. Qrow silently wondered whether James was taking more than he was supposed to or not. Whether he should worry or not.

Roman stepped away from James, leaving the taller man with the bottle and went back to his seat, settling back against Junior with a pleased groan as he started to relax. "They'll be here in forty five minutes or so." Roman mumbled the announcement as he rested his head against Junior's arm..

Qrow curled up on the couch, and wished that he could push himself against someone else the same way that Roman was curled against Junior. He tried hard to push that feeling back, knowing that he didn't have much for options here. He couldn't push himself back against James, who he was sure would either bolt away from the touch or stiffen in pain.

Probably both, if he thought about it.

He closed his eyes, leaned his head against his closed fist and tried to drift away to sleep, if only until the food arrived.

Qrow had such luck, drifting off to sleep relatively quickly and only being jolted awake by the sound of the doorbell. He could hear Junior at the door as he blinked the sleep away from his eyes, and the scent of food quickly wafted through the apartment.

He stretched, sat upright, and saw that James had curled into the side of the couch, his eyes closed and snoring silently. He hesitated, not sure whether he should reach out, cross the gap that felt as though it were miles wide between them and try to shake James into wakefulness.

No.

It was best to let him rest.

Junior closed the door, with two large paper bags in tow and set them down on the tiny coffee table in the centre of the room. Qrow watched as Junior hoisted container after container out of the bag, passing them off to their owners.

Last, Junior set a container of something down in front of James, stepped forward and put a hand on James' right shoulder. Qrow heard the man's voice. "Jim."

James jolted awake, immediately pushing Junior away from him as he tried to ground himself and figure out where he was and what exactly he was doing there. Qrow watched as James stared wide-eyed at Junior.

Opened his mouth and tried to say something.

Managed to breathe.

Finally. "What?"

"I got you something." Junior gestured to the container that was on the coffee table in front of James. "I wanted to be sure you were awake."

James reached into his pocket, and Qrow could hear the sound of James dialing a number and ordering a cab over the sound of his own box of food coming open. He listened closely, realizing that James had asked for a cab in an hour. When James closed the call, he watched as James closed his eyes again, turning away from Junior.

"I want to sleep this off." James mumbled.

"James-"

"Please, Junior." James closed his eyes. "Let me try."

Qrow wondered what he was going to have to deal with once they got to the house. Whether he was going to have to help drag James upstairs to bed, or whether he was even going to be welcome in James' house, despite everything.

There were a lot of variables that Qrow wasn't sure about.

In front of them, Junior sighed. "Alright." Junior stood upright. "Rest, James. But make sure you at least eat something when you get up."

James waved the concern away with his gloved right hand, and Junior away with it as the tallest man sat back down on the loveseat. Qrow decided not to bother James after that. Instead focused on his meal.

He was probably halfway through it when he finally closed the box, leaving behind some leftovers for the morning. Qrow checked the time on his phone, and realized that his and James' cab was probably going to be there soon. He turned to James, who was once again asleep.

Qrow tapped on James' hand twice. He saw James jerk himself awake. Saw the way that James' blue eyes blinked twice and the way that James tried to sit up, though the motion was stiff. "Cab's probably coming." Qrow spoke softly.

James nodded, and reached back, pushing himself up against the couch and forcing himself onto his feet. He dragged himself across the living room, finding the duffel bag and picking it up and carefully slinging it across his shoulder.

Qrow wondered whether he should take that bag instead.

Realizing that they were leaving then and there made Qrow follow James' actions, getting the guitar case that he knew still carried the shotgun and picked up the two boxes of food. He looked at one of the empty brown paper bags, then between Junior and Roman. "Do you mind?"

"Take it." Roman said. "Less trash for us to worry about."

"Thanks." Qrow put the food into the bag, then made sure he had everything. By the time he turned to say something to James, the older man was gone, having left the door to Roman and Junior's apartment open in his wake. "I'll see you two-"

"Soon." Roman cut him off, raised a hand, and wiggled his fingers at Qrow in a wave goodbye. "Take care of him."

Qrow nodded, turned, and followed James down the hall to see that James was leaning against the wall next to the elevator. He stepped up alongside James, and saw that James was looking down, his eyes clamped shut and expression pained.

The elevator door opened.

James stepped into the elevator first, and Qrow followed him in. There was a moment of silence as the two looked between each other, as though both were asking the silent question of who should press the button and begin their descent. Qrow's eyes flicked between the button and James for a moment, and then he finally reached out, pushing the ball of his palm to the button for the first floor.

The door closed in front of them, and this time, Qrow managed to make full eye contact with James. The other man was leaned back against the wall as usual, and he hadn't done anything to drop his bag since stepping into the elevator. Qrow wanted to step across, to say something to James, and try to help relieve some of the other man's pains.

James spoke. "I'll cover the cab." The words were low, James' voice gravelly with a mixture of exhaustion and pain. Qrow wanted to say something, but he only decided to move, stepping in front of James and forcing the taller of the two to look at him directly.

"That's good, Jimmy." Qrow rasped the words out.

"It's James." It came out as a growl.

Shit.

Qrow nearly felt his breath hitch, nearly felt himself step forward and get closer to James. It was unbelievable how badly he wanted to get under James' skin, pry his anger out of him, and see just how far he was able to push the other man along. He wondered what he could get away with. Qrow let a smirk split his face, red eyes narrowing. "I know."

"Why are you doing this?"

"What are you talking about?" Qrow responded, cockiness touching his voice. "I'm not doing anything."

"Qrow-"

"Jimmy."

"Why-"

"Because."

"Qrow-"

"Jimmy-" Qrow took the step forward now. Between the two of them, there couldn't have been more than five inches of space. He stared up into James' face, and for a moment, he was sure that James would pull back, putting more space between the two of them. But to Qrow's surprise, James didn't budge. It was a nice trick, if anything. "We made it out of there alive."

"I know." James muttered. "What of it?"

"Doesn't it make you feel-" Inhale. "-alive?' God, what was he doing?

James' mouth opened for a moment before clamping back shut. Qrow focused on James' expressions, not sure where he was going with this. There were a lot of things going on in his head. A lot of things that changed how he thought about this new distance between them. Realization of what they'd done. Leftover adrenaline.

"Yes." James finally answered.

The elevator was silent, and Qrow couldn't hear anything in that moment but the sound of two breaths and his own heartbeat.

Step forward.

On his toes.

A fist in a sweater.

Tug close.

Lips against lips.

Qrow didn't know what he expected. Qrow didn't know why he did it. He didn't know whether to expect the feeling of James' lips moving against his. Or whether James would push him away. Whether the elevator would come to a stop and someone would intrude on them.

James didn't kiss back, Qrow realized. He was able to hear the breath hitch in the other man's throat, and for a moment, he wondered what that meant. Whether James was just caught off guard. Whether he was just in some sort of pain-haze. Whether he was being kept upright by residual adrenaline pumping through his veins.

After a long moment, Qrow released his hand from James' shirt, and stepped back, putting that precious five inches of space between the two of them again.

He wondered whether James had remembered to breathe or not. His eyes met James' and for a moment he was sure he'd been witness to flashes of a thousand emotions.

Fear.

Anger.

Lust.

Rage.

Affection.

Confusion.

If Qrow knew what that mix meant, he was sure that he wouldn't have been bothered. For a moment, he wanted to run, feeling the elevator begin to lurch to a halt.

If James was going to do anything, or say anything, he was going to do it before leaving the elevator.

James looked away from Qrow, then down at the bag he had slung around him. For a moment, Qrow considered reaching out and punching the button on the elevator that would force the door back closed. Instead, he did nothing.

He felt James shoulder past him, close his eyes. Inhale deeply.

Finally, James spoke.

"We'll talk about this later."

And that was it. James stepped out of the elevator, leaving Qrow alone, dumbstruck. He'd wanted more of a reaction, whether it was angry, good, or otherwise. Not... this. Qrow hesitated, gathering up the things he'd been given to carry and stepped out of the elevator, standing several feet back as James stepped out of the apartment building, his gate stiff.

Qrow followed behind, and scanned the parking lot for a cab that would act as their savior in this situation. If they were in a cab with someone, then they would have no choice but to push this aside and make it back to James' house in the most civil manner possible. In the back of Qrow's mind, the possibility that James might send him back to Vale as soon as they arrived at the house became apparent.

if Qrow had to be honest with himself, he was sure that James woudn't hesitate to do that in a heartbeat. In which case, Qrow would have no choice but to pay an expensive cab bill, and have to figure out what little he would be able to give to Raven immediately so that she'd be taken care of.

He followed James to the front, where a cab was waiting. He watched as James slid into the passenger's seat in the front, and Qrow climbed into the back, arranging the cumbersome guitar case beside him and leaving him to listen as James gave his directions to where he home was. The cabbie nodded wordlessly, started the clock, and then they were on their way.

James and the driver made small talk for almost the entire ride. By the time they were pulling into the driveway at James' home, Qrow couldn't bear anymore of it. The fact of the matter was that James hadn't even acknowledged him since they'd left the elevator. He didn't know why, but that hurt, if only a little.

With the driver paid, James pushed the door open, letting Qrow in first. Qrow took the invitation, slipping inside first and getting out of his shoes before looking at the hallway that would bring him back to James' office. "Should I-"

"Yes." James said, his voice tight as he stepped him, pushing the door closed behind him and stiffly removing his shoes, one after the other. "Then we..."

"Right." Qrow mumbled. "I'll be right back."

Qrow dragged himself down the hallway towards James' office and stepped inside. It looked exactly the same as it had when they'd left that morning, and for some reason he felt like he belonged there even less than ever. Hesitantly, Qrow stepped inside and went to James' desk, stepping behind it for the first time to set down the guitar case so that everything could be put away later.

He was standing back upright when he hesitated, finally letting himself look at the things that were scattered over the desk. Pens, slips of paper with short notes written on them, and a framed photograph of Penny, arranged neatly on a small shelf near James' computer. Qrow wondered what he could learn about James just by looking at this desk but-

"Qrow."

Qrow turned, facing James. "Yeah?"

"What was that about?"

"I don't know." Qrow said, trying to avoid the directness of James' gaze. "I just... wanted to."

James sighed, and Qrow could hear the unhappiness on his voice. Could tell that James was bouncing back and forth between frustration and something else.

For a moment, Qrow seriously considered calling Taiyang for a way out. He could disappear away and avoid any trouble for at least a little while. At least until he would know for a fact that James would have had time to process what he'd done.

The worst part was that even with James' questioning, Qrow didn't actually know why he'd gone ahead and pressed that kiss to James' lips. Why he'd been tempted. He was about to open his mouth, to go ahead and say something, but heard James' voice instead.

"Look-" James covered his face with his hand for just a moment, squeezing the bridge of his nose. "-I'm willing to let this go."

"Are you?"

"Yes." James' voice was insistent. "You made a mistake. That's all there is too it."

"Oh." Qrow shoved his hands deep into his pockets and stared down at the floor. "Right. A mistake."

He wondered how many times he'd have to tell himself that before he believed it.

James turned away, pushed his hands into his pockets and hung his head. "I'm going to bed, Qrow. Make sure you turn off the lights whenever you're done."

And that was it. James was walking away from Qrow, leaving him there in the office, alone to think about what he'd done. For just a moment, Qrow felt like he was being put in time out. He could hear the sound of James' heavy footsteps as he went upstairs.

He pushed back the feeling that urged him to follow. Instead, he went to the couch where he belonged, opened his flask, and drank until he couldn't feel a thing.

At three in the morning, he called Taiyang to bring him home.


	14. Extending the Olive Branch

Sometime in the middle of the night, Qrow had called Taiyang to spirit him away back to Vale.

He shouldn't have been surprised when he didn't hear a word from James for the entire week. Qrow wasn't without fault in this, he figured that he should have picked up the phone, and made a call to try and apologize, though he doubted that was even what James wanted from him.

Qrow wondered whether the silence had to do with the fact that the work phones that he and James had used to keep contact were now gone, decimated and forever lost along a riverside. Deep down, Qrow knew that he'd have to get a new phone, or that someone would get in contact with him when it came time for the rest of the payout from the job.

He didn't expect any sort of lifeline to hold him up in the meantime.

That changed on Thursday night, when Taiyang started talking about how it was almost the weekend, and how he wanted to invite people over for barbeque. Summer quickly joined in, with ideas for people that she could invite and things that she could make for them to enjoy.

The possibility of getting a large inflatable pool for the girls even came up.

Qrow kept quiet for this conversation, content to let the girls throw their ideas for a cookout around. Yang wanted a volleyball net. Ruby wanted a pool and a lot of room for Zwei to run around. That was all manageable.

The last thing Qrow wanted to do was interject himself too deeply into this conversation. Instead, he focused on the dinner that Taiyang had prepared that night, pushing his peas into his mashed potatoes idly, something he must have done a thousand times since he was a boy.

"Qrow?"

He snapped his attention up to Summer, who was looking at him with a weird look on her face, like she was about to tell him to stop playing with his food.

He thought about it for a moment.

That was probably exactly what it was.

He set down his fork and sat up straight, looking at Summer from his corner of the table. "Yeah?"

"You've been quiet." Summer smirked at him from her seat, and deep down Qrow got a bad feeling about what that could possibly mean. "I was going to ask if there was anything you wanted at the cookout?"

Qrow blinked twice, not sure what he was supposed to say that wouldn't get him yelled at. He got the feeling that they wouldn't appreciate him suggesting good beer. Well, maybe Taiyang would. But Summer wouldn't.

"I'll uh..." Qrow frowned, trying to think. "I'll think about it."

Taiyang waved his knife around, grinning between swallowing his food and taking a fresh bite. "Why not invite someone? Pretty waitress maybe?"

At that, Ruby's eyes lit up, and Qrow could feel her squirming around in her seat beside him, despite the fact that they were nearly a foot away from each other. "Can I invite a friend?!"

Taiyang blinked, then looked at Summer, then at Yang. "That sounds good." He smiled. "I think it'd be too bad if we didn't let the girls invite some friends over."

Summer hummed thoughtfully, setting down her silverware. "I think that would be wonderful."

Qrow was about to take the chance to zone out again, when Summer caught his attention. "Qrow, why don't you invite your friend from work?"

"What?"

"Your partner?"

"James?" Qrow cocked his head in some confusion when Summer spoke, but soon he realized that this was probably a good chance for him to talk to James about what had happened. Remove some of the new animosity that he was sure had built up between them. "Oh, uh... Yeah, I guess I could. See if he wants to bring his kid along or something."

Summer smiled, stared at Qrow. "That would be wonderful." Qrow realized that her silver eyes had flicked down to the plate in front of him.

Shit.

There it was.

"Are you going to set a good example for the girls and stop playing with your food?"

"Yeah." Qrow chuckled. "Sure."

Taiyang laughed. "Summer, he's not a kid."

"He's our son we went to college with."

Qrow opened his mouth in protest, but decided not to say anything once Ruby was asking whether that made him his and Yang's uncle or their brother. Taiyang was quick to ensure the girls that Qrow was still just their uncle. Qrow didn't answer, glad to just watch Taiyang scramble to explain the joke.

After that, Qrow decided to actually eat his food. He'd call James after dinner and see whether he could successfully extend an invitation to a cookout to his partner.

He didn't even know whether James was going to be with Penny this weekend. He had a feeling that was going to be the crux of everything- if Penny wasn't going to be around, Qrow had no chance. Dinner finished, and Qrow took his time to help with the cleanup before going to the living room. He flopped down onto the couch, unplugged his phone, and called James.

The phone didn't even ring once before James picked up.

"Ironwood."

"Holy shit, you do always answer like that don't you?"

"Qrow?" On the other end of the line, he could hear James shift. "Why are you calling me at this number?"

"I..." Qrow hesitated. "Tai and Summer wanted to have a cookout, and they wanted me to invite you and your girl out for the fun."

"Oh." SIlence. "What day?"

"Saturday. At noon-ish."

"I'll ask Penny if she wants to go. I'll call you and let you know-"

"Jim-"

"We'll talk if I see you."

Those words shouldn't have stung as badly as they did, Qrow thought. He was surprised that James was even willing to ask Penny if she'd want to come out. He knew deep down that meant that James was looking for an excuse not to go, but he was hopeful.

"Right." Qrow mumbled into the phone. "Just call me back when you've made up your mind?"

"Of course." He heard the sound of James moving around again, and in the background he could hear the sound of other people talking, like James was in a public place. "If I come, should I bring something?"

Qrow paused, thinking. It was the first major sign that James was actually considering coming along. "Yeah, I think they'd like that."

"Alright." He hears James breathe the word out, sounding like he was feeling more than a little annoyed at the moment. "I'll see what I can do."

"You'll call me when you know what you're doing, right?"

"Correct." James said. "And Qrow?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't call me at this number again."

There was a click, and that was it. Qrow's hand tensed around his phone, feeling more than a little miffed by the fact that James had just asked him to cut contact away from work. Someday, he was sure that James would let the elevator incident go and they'd be able to move on with their lives. But now, the issue was fresh.

If he knew whether James was doing this because he wanted his personal and his work life separate, or whether he was doing it just because of the moment in the elevator a few days before, then maybe it would be better. But unfortunately, there was no clear answer.

Qrow shook his head and pocketed the phone before stepping into the dining room where Summer was setting up a board game for the girls. She looked up at him, smirked, then looked at the phone in his hand. "Did you call James?"

"I did" Qrow says, sinking down into the chair next to Summer. "It was a resounding, definite maybe."

"Well, that's... something I guess." Summer chuckled. "Want to join us for games?"

"Nah." Qrow chuckled, looking between Ruby and Yang, who were trying to decide which of the game pieces would represent them in the game. "I don't think board games are really my style. I might go with Tai to cross off his little shopping list."

"A pool and a volleyball net." Summer chuckled. "I think we have room?"

"I'm sure it'll be fine." Qrow looked at the doorway to see that Taiyang was coming in, blue eyes alight. "I think if there's not enough room, Tai and I will come up with something."

"That's not concerning at all." Summer laughs, shaking her head. Qrow gets up and looks at Taiyang.

"I'm ready to head out when you are." Taiyang grinned widely, pressed a kiss to Summer's cheek, and then he was shoving his car keys into his pocket, the obvious sign that it was time for them to go.

Qrow slid out of his seat, stood up, and stretched. He went to the door and slipped into his shoes, and went out to the car, the weight of his phone in his pocket feeling like a constant reminder of one of the ways that he'd failed.

When they got to the car, Qrow got into the passenger's seat, which felt like it was a more foreign action than it should have been. Taiyang got in to drive, an eternal smile stretched across his face as he turned the key and backed out of the driveway.

They were barely a minute down the road when Taiyang spoke. "You know, the girls have been missing their uncle."

"I know." Qrow said, looking out the window. "I'm trying to make an effort to stay home this weekend. Work's kept me busy, you know?"

"Yeah, I get that." Taiyang said, reaching over to turn on the radio- something that Qrow realized James never seemed to do. "Where have you even been sleeping while you're out in Vale?"

"Mostly on couches." Qrow said. "My coworkers are usually willing to put up with me after work."

Taiyang nodded. "So you've only been out in Atlas so often for work?"

"Yes." Qrow deadpanned. "That's what I'm saying."

"And nothing else?"

That shouldn't have shot a pang through Qrow's chest, but it did. "Yeah." He realized quickly that his voice sounded scratchier than it usually did. "Nothing else."

Taiyang hummed, and Qrow wasn't sure whether it was a sign that he was reading into the answer or not. He didn't want to question it too much, for fear that it dragged up something that he didn't want to think about.

Qrow was about to drift back away mentally when he heard Taiyang's voice again, snapping him back to reality.

"Do you have any idea when you're getting paid?"

Shit.

it was time to start rolling out the lies.

"I dunno." Qrow says, hoping that Taiyang wouldn't start questioning what he was saying too deeply. He didn't know how far he could carry this lie if he had to, and that worried him. He didn't like having to lie about Taiyang about any more than he had to.

Deep down, he knew what he should have done.

He should have told Taiyang that he'd been given some pay already.

He should have told Taiyang that he'd set his pay aside to make sure that Raven was taken care of.

He couldn't tell Taiyang any of that.

Even despite his better judgement.

He decided to follow up on what he'd said. "I think the job got extended, and this guy I'm working for, I think he only pays at the end of the job."

"That-" Taiyang takes a left turn, bringing them towards the gleaming front of a big box store. "-Sounds like a terrible pay structure."

"It's the worst." Qrow laughs, already unbuckling his seatbelt so that he could get out of the car immediately. "But when it's done the pay's supposed to be really, really good."

"Well, I hope so." Taiyang parked the car near the entrance, turning off the ignition and getting out immediately. The blonde took a long moment, stretching himself out and waiting for Qrow to get out.

Qrow pushed the door open and hopped down out of the car before slamming it shut behind him. His and Taiyang's eyes met for a moment, and for a second Qrow was sure that his heart was going to stop a beat.

Taiyang's eyes were really blue.

Like James' eyes.

He pushed the feeling back with all the power that he could. Qrow turned on his heel, following Taiyang into the store and heading towards the outdoors section where he was sure they would find the things that the girls had asked for in hopes of having the best possible cookout.

It was probably going to be an easy job, Qrow thought. Food, inflatable pool, and a volleyball net. And probably an extra volleyball, if his predictions were correct. He figured that the odds were that they'd also get a frisbee for Zwei.

Taiyang led the way to a massive display which contained nothing but large inflatable pools. Together, Qrow and Taiyang looked it over in search of the perfect one. It wasn't going to be cheap, that was the biggest problem that Qrow immediately saw.

"Do you think four feet is too deep?" Taiyang asked. "Or should we just let the girls use a lot of floaties?"

Qrow blinked, he didn't even know how tall the kids were. "Uh…" He hesitates, guessing as to how tall Ruby was. "I think four feet is probably fine, we'll just get a lot of pool noodles or something."

"Perfect!" Taiyang smiled, reaching out and taking one of the boxes. He turned to place it in a cart, only realizing that he and Qrow had neglected to get one, which had been a surprisingly common occurrence back when they had lived together the first time around.

Qrow opened his mouth. "I'll go get a cart?"

"Please do." Taiyang chuckled, looking around. "Uh… meet me by the balls?"

"Uh…." Qrow hesitated, not sure what to say. "Sure?"

With that he turned on his heel to get a cart, leaving Taiyang behind with the cumbersome box that held the pool that they'd picked out.

Qrow walked to the front of the store, though he did have moments where he wanted to just hijack someone's abandoned cart, but decided against it. However, when he reached the front of the store, he was surprised by the sight of James Ironwood, standing in a checkout line, talking to some woman with red hair, with Penny at their side.

It sent Qrow reeling. He felt his heartbeat speed in his chest,and he tucked himself carefully out of sight behind a display that held nothing but bags of chips and small bottles of wine that would have been given away as samples somewhere else.

He watched as James carefully set grocery after grocery on the conveyor belt, and if he strained he was sure that he would have been able to figure out what was being said. However, he was just left the sinking feeling that this explained everything.

James had told him about the divorce, and about Penny. He hadn't told him much, but it had been enough. Qrow had thought it had been enough.

It had sounded like James hadn't been interested in rekindling that.

But then the kiss in the elevator, and James' quiet. They hadn't talked. They hadn't tried to work things out. James had been unresponsive.

Perhaps James was trying to fix things with this mysterious ex-wife of his.

Qrow swallowed his pain. Swallowed his hurt. Closed his eyes. He looked down at the display in front of him, with its tiny bottles of wine that he hadn't personally touched since he was living with Raven, Taiyang, and Summer, back when they'd gone to university.

He wanted to open all of them, against his better judgement. The only thing that stopped him was that he didn't want to pay for them.

Qrow stepped back from the display, realizing that he still had things to do and he didn't want to be seen. He could go and hide himself away, at least until James was gone and give Taiyang some excuse about him getting distracted or something.

No.

That wasn't good enough.

Despite his better judgement, Qrow didn't budge. He watched as James went through the line with the woman and Penny, watched as James loaded bag after bag of groceries into the woman's- she had to be his wife, Qrow decided. She looked too much like Penny- cart.

Watched as James paid for everything.

Watched James walk them to the door.

Lean down.

Kiss Penny goodbye and whisper something to her.

Turn around and go back into the store.

Wait.

What?

Realizing that there was the possibility that he would be seen, Qrow finally moved, walking around the front of the store to get a cart undetected. He squared his shoulders and his stance and began to walk the cart back to where he knew Taiyang would be.

He felt sick.

He wanted to drink.

To scream.

To cry.

To fight.

He evaded James' gaze, got his cart, and made his way to the back where he knew Taiyang would be. When he looked back over his shoulder, he saw James with nothing more than a hand basket heading towards the dairy section.

Ok then.

He could handle this.

Maybe.

Qrow made his way to the section with all of the sports balls, knowing that Taiyang would be there. When Qrow stepped in, Taiyang was idly dribbling a loose ball, the box with the pool resting at his side.

Taiyang looked up at Qrow. "What took you so long?" Tai asked, putting the ball away, shoving it back into a cordoned case that held all manner of balls. "It's been like seven minutes."

"I... uh, got distracted."

"Lemme guess." Taiyang said, picking up the heavy box with the pool in it before setting it down in the cart that Qrow was pushing around. "Cute waitress?"

"Why would there be a waitress here?" Qrow started, stepping away from the cart to look at what the store had in the category of volleyball nets. He let a heavy sigh leave his lips. "It doesn't matter."

"Don't lie to me." Taiyang said, gesturing to one of the volleyball kits in a question. Qrow looked at the box and nodded.

"I'm not lying." Qrow felt his tone shift in his throat. "Why do you think I'm-"

"Because you're like Raven."

"What?"

"You always..." Taiyang swallowed. "You always get pale when you lie a lot."

"Tai-"

"You want space." Taiyang sighed. "I get it. But... what's going on?"

Qrow shook his head. "I just... I think someone I was interested in is attached is all. Kinda bummed out."

"Ah." Taiyang sighed the word, pulling out the box that was going to provide their entertainment at the cookout. "I... I think I get that."

"I don't know that you would." Qrow sighed. "We should get food for the cookout. You know what you want, right?"

Together the two walked through the store, heading towards the food section of the store. Qrow was careful the entire time, watching for any sign of James because he just really didn't want to have to deal with the feelings that were balling up in his chest and had been building up since Sunday.

However, keeping track of a grocery list for Summer and Taiyang was a fairly welcome distraction. Ever since they'd first lived together, Qrow had always been the one to make sure that they got what they needed for dinner. He didn't pay attention to the specifics, that was always someone else's job.

He just made sure the list was filled out.

He liked it that way.

The pair started in the meat aisle, picking out the burgers and sausages that Taiyang would want, but also picked out some ribs and pork for other nights. And bacon, since it always was a bit of a necessity in the Xiao Long-Rose household.

They worked from aisle to aisle, and when the two reached the condiments aisle, that was when everything was up. Taiyang wanted mustard, Qrow figured it was a good idea to get a new bottle of ketchup before the weekend.

James was at the end of the aisle, scanning over the shelf that held all of the mayonnaise. He looked... confused. Qrow let his eyes fall on the man for just a moment before pulling himself away and back to the bottles of ketchup.

Taiyang spoke up. "Hey, Qrow, do you think Summer will want the yellow stuff of the spicy stuff?" Qrow looked over at Taiyang, whose blue eyes were darting between bottles that were as yellow as his hair.

Qrow opened up his mouth to say something, but before he could, he let his eyes dart back to James. James' eyes were on him, and it made Qrow nervous. He looked back to Taiyang.

"I think you should just get the yellow stuff. That's what the kids are more likely to want." Qrow finally managed, pulling down a bottle of ketchup and tossing it into the cart haphazardly. He was about to move, when something distracted him.

James' voice.

"I was going to text you." James said, brow furrowed and his eyes glued on the shelf in front of him. "Penny wanted to come."

Qrow turned, his eyes falling on the man. It was the closest the two had gotten to actually communicating in days. He swallowed. "I'll see you Saturday, then?"

"Yeah." James mumbled, finally pulling down a jar of mayonnaise and adding it to his basket. "I'm bringing a pasta salad. If that helps."

Taiyang blinked, looking between Qrow and James for a moment before speaking up. "That would be fantastic." He said, and Qrow wondered silently whether the blonde had figured out what was going on. Why things were so awkward. "The girls will be so happy to see your daughter- John, was it?"

"It's James." James answered. "And Penny's excited to play with your daughters as well. Now if you'll excuse me-" James lifted the basket of food that he was carrying, as though it made the point for him.

"Right." Qrow said, straightening up. "I'll see you. Enjoy your shopping."

"Right." James turned, presumably heading towards the produce aisle. "I'll see you."

With that, James slipped out of sight, leaving Qrow and Taiyang alone in the condiments aisle. Qrow sighed. Taiyang spoke.

"So your waitress-"

"Yeah, Tai." Qrow finally admitted. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Shit."

"Yeah." Qrow mumbled. "Shit."

He really wasn't looking forward to the cookout all of a sudden.


	15. Cookouts and Dinner Lines

Saturday morning rolled around, and James was up bright and early, careful to make himself look as good as he possibly could before going to Laurel's house to pick up Penny. He didn't know why he felt the need to look good- he knew that his chances with Laurel were long gone, but he still felt the need to look as good as possible every time he saw her.

Old habits died hard, he supposed.

The fact that he'd only see her for three minutes at most didn't even register to James as an issue. The fact that it was boiling outside and he was going to a cookout didn't register as an issue either.

James just wanted to look good. He wanted to feel good.

He wanted to show the best that he possibly could to Penny, too.

Once he was sure that he had everything he needed- clothes, the promised pasta salad, James went out to his car, and took his seat on the driver's side, taking the moment to adjust his seat and mirrors. He was going to have to drive out to Vale soon to pick Penny up. Before finally starting the drive over, James tossed a bottle of medication into his glove box and hesitated.

He didn't know whether he was going to end up coming home that night. He had a feeling, that if Penny enjoyed herself enough, she was going to beg for a sleepover with Ruby and Yang. James didn't want to leave her alone. He couldn't say no to her.

He loved her too deeply.

This was about Penny,not him.

The drive to Vale was quiet for the most part, with James eventually deciding to turn his radio to a news channel because at least that way he wouldn't be left alone with his thoughts. He wouldn't have to think about the highway in front of him, or the speed, or anything else. The radio was an excuse for him to breathe .

He finally turned onto the block where he knew Laurel's house was, and pulled up along the side of the road before taking a long moment to steel himself to see her. It was strange, having to think of it that way, having to consider what he did turning himself to iron when he was already half metal. But he had to. It was the best way to go into any meeting.

Especially when it came to Laurel.

James parked the car, got out, and was about to walk up to the house when the front door opened up, Penny jogging out to him with a bag in her arms and a backpack on her back. Penny got close, and James changed his stance, opened up his arms, and let Penny run into a hug. She hugged him tight, and James smiled into the embrace before pulling back and standing up properly.

"Hello Penny."

"Hello father." Penny smiled up at him, her bright green eyes alight with love. "I am glad to see you."

"I'm happy to see you too, Penny. Where's your mom?"

Penny frowned. "She said she had to go to the store for a few minutes. She said I would be alright until you came and got me."

Dammit .

James frowned, and looked at the house. "We should leave her a note so that she knows I got you then." James reached into his pocket, found his keys and passed them to Penny. "Want to go put your bags in the back seat?"

"Absolutely!" Penny fumbled with the keys, finding the unlock button and giggling when she heard the low thud of his car doors unlocking. The girl ran up to the side of the car before pulling one of the doors open and tossing the bag in her arms into the back seat. When she was done, she closed the door and ran back inside of the house, where James was in the kitchen composing a note.

She leaned against the counter, blinking and watching him as he wrote. "Are you mad at her father?"

"No, Penny." James said. "I'm just not... very happy that she left you here alone. How long has it been?"

"I don't like it when she does that either." Penny mumbled. "It's only been about twenty minutes since she had to go. But we're going to have fun today, right?"

"Of course." James signed the note, reached down and offered Penny his hand. The two of them left the house, James stopping at the front door and checking under a rock next to the stairs for the spare key so that he could lock the house up properly, just as he had a hundred times before. "I think that Ruby and Yang will be happy to have you there too."

"Are you sure?" Penny walked alongside him, looking up at him the entire time. They reached the side of the car, and Penny hopped up into the passenger's seat. She frowned, and James very quickly realized why when he seated himself. The seat had to be readjusted since he'd only shared the car with Qrow lately. Penny reached down between her legs to find the lever that would let her adjust her seat.

"I'm very sure." James took a minute to prepare himself for the drive, mostly giving Penny a chance to get comfortable. When he was sure that he was settled, he looked over at Penny, who had pulled off her backpack. He could see the head of a mint green teddy bear poking up out of her bag. James remembered it, somehow it was one of the few things that he'd been able to hold onto in his memory from his hospital stay.

She'd tucked it in with him at some point.

It was her favorite. It always had been.

It was good knowing that she still had it.

James smiled down at her. "Are you ready to go?"

"I am." Penny smiled up at James, hugging her backpack to her chest. He reached out, turned the key in the ignition, and began the drive across town so that he could get to the cookout. He didn't expect for it to take too long, and once they arrived, he was sure that he wasn't going to be spending the day as close to Penny as possible, but that was a good thing for her.

It was good that she got to play with kids her age.

The Xiao Long-Rose house was abundant with activity, with a volleyball net set up in the front yard, and in the back, James could make out the blue of what was either a tarp or an inflatable pool that he was sure he'd end up avoiding at all costs. He pulled into their driveway, next to the lone minivan that was there and parked the car.

He heard Penny unbuckle the seat belt as soon as the car was off. James smirked, got out of the car, and heard Penny do the same once his door opened. Together, they walked up to the front door. The two of them hesitated there, and James realized quickly that Penny might not have wanted to knock herself. That was ok. She didn't know the Xiao Long-Roses.

Neither did he, now that he thought about it. He only knew Qrow.

James knocked on the door, and when it opened, he was greeted by a girl with lilac eyes and long bright yellow hair that had been put into loose pigtails- Yang, if he remembered correctly. She looked up at him, then at Penny. Smiled. Turned her head. "Dad, Qrow's friend is here!" She called back into the house. "Should I let him in?"

Qrow rushed into the room, before Taiyang could respond. "I'll take it from here, firecracker." He laughed the words out, and Yang ran off, towards a door at the side of the living room that would open up into the family's backyard.

James looked down at Penny. She looked up at him, and for a moment James had to wonder whether there was a flash of anxiety in her green eyes. He looked to the door. Whispered. "Go ahead."

Penny nodded, smiled up at James, and walked through the house to get to the open door before going outside. That left James and Qrow alone.

James hesitated, though he wasn't sure why he did. This time he was at this house on an invitation, not like the last time he'd come here. He had to have an excuse not to talk to Qrow, James thought. He didn't want to talk about the goings on the week before, or work, or anything like that. James was here for Penny, not for Qrow.

He swallowed. "I left the pasta salad in the car-"

"Do you want me to-"

"I can get it." James turned, went to his car and unlocked it on the way over, leaned into the backseat to find the large bowl of pasta salad that he'd prepared the night before and left to chill all night. The entire while he could feel Qrow's eyes on him, which was more than uncomfortable. For just a moment, he swore that he could feel his scars burning across his body. James picked up the bowl and eased himself out of the car before going to the house and stepping inside.

"Where should I put this?"

Qrow looked at the bowl, then at James. Raised an eyebrow. "Uh, the fridge I guess." Qrow said, gesturing towards the kitchen so that James would know where to go. "I hope you like burgers, I think that's all Taiyang's making today."

"I'm sure it'll be fine." James stepped into the kitchen, went for the fridge and moved two or three containers of food aside before sliding the bowl in carefully. He took a second to look at Qrow, just out of the corner of his eye. He had a lot of questions that he wanted to ask the other man, but it wasn't the place or the time. "I just want to be sure Penny's happy."

Qrow hummed, and James could hear the thinner man lean back against something. He was still watching him, James knew it. He didn't like that feeling. James stepped away from the fridge, and looked over at Qrow. "Why did you invite me here?"

"Because I wanted to talk to you." Qrow answered. "Jim, I'm sorry."

"Qrow-" James sighed. Of course, he was trying to steer the conversation this way. Of course he wanted to talk about this. James didn't want to talk about it. He didn't know how he was supposed to talk about it.

He and Qrow didn't actually know each other.

"James." Qrow cut him off. "I mean it. I'm sorry."

The other man's voice sounded bitter, and James saw Qrow reach for one of his pockets, presumably looking for that damned flask that James knew he had on him at all times. "Qrow, look-" James shoved his right hand into his pocket, almost involuntarily. "-we're partners at work, that's it."

"Jim, I just..." Qrow shook his head, finding the flask and pulling it out of his pocket. "I overstepped. I know."

A twist of a cap.

Qrow's red eyes focused on the opening.

Qrow's red eyes focused on him.

"I thought that there was-"

No .

James cut Qrow off then and there. "Qrow, I don't know what happened in that elevator. But it's best that we forget about it. " The words were bitter in James' mouth, even though he didn't know why. He thought that Qrow was attractive, sure, but he knew better than to think that pursuing a relationship was a good idea.

Qrow and him just weren't compatible that way.

And even then, he needed to get his own life back on track first.

Qrow brought that flask to his lips. James felt a surge of guilt rush through his chest, but he did his best to push that feeling back. He closed his eyes, turned and looked away from Qrow. "You and I, Qrow... it just won't work. We aren't like Roman and Junior where they already-"

"James?"

" I don't know you ." James leveled his tone. Forged his words from steel. "And you don't know anything about me. What made you think that was a-"

"Father?"

Penny?

All at once, James shifted his demeanor. He turned to face Penny, who was standing there just outside of the kitchen with her orange hair looking messy already. Her bow was off center. "Penny?" James put on a smile. "What's wrong?"

"I wanted to know if I could play in the pool?"

James raised an eyebrow and turned, looking out the window to reconfirm that there was in fact a pool outside, with Taiyang wearing a bright red shirt that was probably branded to look like it had come out of a bad tv show from several years ago. He thought for a moment, then looked at Qrow to silently communicate that they would talk later.

"You can play in the pool." James says, walking out of the kitchen with Penny. "It's just best that I can-"

"You won't swim with us, will you?"

"I think I'm too tall to use the pool." James chuckled. Obvious excuse. "But I'll look out for you, ok?"

Penny smiled widely. "I think I left my swimsuit in the car."

James reached into his pocket, found his keys, and passed them to Penny. "Go get it, get changed in the bathroom. Bring your backpack in with you so you can put your clothes there and keep them safe."

Penny snapped James a playful salute and ran out to the car. He was tempted to follow, but instead he felt Qrow's hand on his arm, telling him no. James shrugged away from Qrow's touch. "Qrow-"

"Let her do her thing." Qrow chuckled. "She'll be fine. And Tai and Summer won't mind what she does."

James sighs. "I'm not going to let her swim una-"

"She'll be attended, Jimmy." Qrow say pointedly. "I want to talk to you. Work this stuff out. Let Taiyang play lifeguard for a day, he won't mind."

James sighed, and stepped to the corner of the kitchen so that he could make sure that Penny made it back inside alright. He closed his eyes, reached up with his still gloved right hand to pinch the bridge of his nose while he let out a sigh. "Right." He muttered the word. "Qrow, I'm here for her, not you, you know that right?"

"Yeah." Qrow says. "I figured. I saw you shopping yesterday after all."

"What-"

"I get what's going on Jimmy. You're trying to get your wife back or something."

James' mouth dropped open, and for just a moment he wasn't able to keep up his usual facade. He could feel his steely visage crack, just long enough for Qrow to see. He clamped his mouth back shut, and tried hard to make sure that he didn't put too much pressure on his teeth. "Qrow, that's... were you following me?"

"Nah." Qrow says, scratching at his chin. Looked away from James. "I just... saw you. With the kid and some redhead. What are you doing?"

"That's... not what that was about." James tries to keep his confidence up. "I was in town and helping Laurel buy groceries and keeping Penny clothed is better than paying regular child support right now." He raised an eyebrow, and turned, now focusing his eyes completely on Qrow. "I try very hard to keep my priorities in line, Qrow."

Qrow was frozen in place, half-dumbstruck as he tried to figure out exactly what James meant by that. James looked back towards the door, to see Penny come in, hold her hand out with his keys, which he quickly took and pocketed, before looking down the hallway. For just a moment, she froze up and looked up at Qrow and James. "Where is the bathroom Mister Qrow?"

"First door on the left, kiddo." Qrow chuckled. "Knock yourself out."

Penny padded down the hallway, and James sighed. He looked up at Qrow, raised an eyebrow, and sighed again. Qrow opened his mouth to say something, then clamped it back shut. James was about to say something, but decided against it, even against his better nature. As much as he wanted to talk to Qrow about what was going on, and he wanted to allow Qrow a place in his circle outside of work, that wasn't possible.

James was getting the strong feeling that Qrow had invited him and Penny for the sake of getting him alone so that they could talk about what had happened the week before. He didn't much appreciate that fact. He wanted to think that Qrow had invited him because of the cookout alone, not something else. If anything, it just left James unsure of what he was supposed to say. What he was supposed to do.

James closed his eyes, then reopened them. Leaned back against the counter and hoped that the weird feeling that was forming in the pit of his stomach would go away. Looked at Qrow, who was still watching him, looking entirely too intent on getting into James' head.

A sigh.

"Qrow-" James mumbled the other man's name. Tried not to sound too defeated. "-I don't know what you're looking for."

Qrow looked away from James now, trying to take his chance to break the tension that was between them. The red eyed man opened his mouth, and closed it again, floundering. "I don't know, Jimmy. It's just the other day was-"

"Your fault." James said, hearing a door down the hall open, followed by the quiet pad of Penny's feet. She came into the kitchen, her backpack in tow, and looked up at James. James turned his attention directly on her, leaving Qrow behind for the second time in that conversation. He reached out, taking Penny's bag- he was sure that he'd find a good place for it, and smiled down at Penny. "Go swim."

Penny's green eyes lit up. "Thank you, father." She snapped him a salute and broke into a half-jog as she left the house. James pushed up off of the counter, and began to walk to the sliding door after Penny. He watched as the girl ran up to the side of the pool, climbing the ladder at the side before climbing into the water.

Qrow stepped up over his shoulder, and James felt himself bristle. Qrow spoke. "She's a good kid."

"She is." James mumbled, stepping outside onto a square of yard that had been paved with stone.

The tiny stone patio held very little, with a charcoal grill that it looked like had only been half-filled, and a small circular table. At the table, Summer sat, watching as the girls played in the pool. There were a few open chairs there, and James considered taking the seat, but since Taiyang was presumably using it, he didn't want to take it.

Qrow stepped outside with him, and looked down at the grill, then up at James. "He'll probably yell when he starts cooking."

"Right." James looked at the grill, wondering what quality of food he had to look forward to that evening, and then looked at the pool, where he could see the occasional bobs of yellow, orange and red hair. Summer looked up, finally noticing James and smiled. James smiled back, deciding that it was an invitation enough for him to take that seat at the table. "Hello."

"We're so glad you could make it, James." Summer smiled at James, and for a moment, he realized that he'd seen her silver eyes stray away from him and towards Qrow. Had he told her? "The girls were so excited when they found out Penny was coming."

"Penny was glad to be invited." James chuckled. He wanted to rest cross one leg over the other, or make himself more comfortable there at the table but decided against it. He was more than sure that Summer and Qrow both thought that his choice of clothing, which was in fact making him feel very uncomfortable, was strange.

Qrow knew about the arm already, James reminded himself with a great feeling of dissatisfaction. But he didn't want Qrow knowing any more. Or having more of a chance to speculate. Summer turned in her seat, and she faced James and Qrow directly. "So, are you two done arguing or are you going to be fun?"

Qrow shook his head. "You heard that?"

"You two didn't exactly try to hide it." Summer said. Her silvery eyes flashed between James and Qrow. "I don't know what's going on with you two, but-"

"It's business." James said. "Which has been taken care of." His eyes slid to Qrow. " Right ?" He half growled the word.

Qrow's stance stiffened. "Right." He said, looking away from James and Summer both. "Been dealt with. Now we're here for fun."

Summer smiled sweetly, and somehow it was the single least and most threatening gesture that James had ever seen. It was then that James decided that Summer was a terrifying woman. One which he didn't intend on upsetting. The woman looked up at Qrow, and then to the kitchen. "You going to sit down, little bird?"

A nickname?

Now that was interesting.

Qrow groaned, and walked to the door, placing a hand on the sliding side of it before stepping inside, leaving Summer and James alone to watch the kids. It was awkward. James didn't know whether he was supposed to say something, or try to initiate small talk. It had been a while since he'd really had to engage anyone like this.

Most of his contact these days came from working in circles where everyone already knew each other.

It wasn't a good thing now that James thought about it.

He inhaled. "Thank you for letting him invite us."

Summer blinked, looked at James from her seat. "Oh, it's no problem." She looked at the pool, then back at James. "I think the girls wouldn't have forgiven us if we didn't let them invite friends or anything."

James nodded. "I think it's good for Penny, being able to make friends with girls her age." He shook his head, pushing back the feelings of regret that boiled in his chest as he was reminded that he didn't have nearly as much of a presence in his daughter's life as he would have liked these days. Penny deserved better from him. She deserved more from him. "And as for me, I'm always happy to enjoy some good food."

Summer's eyes slid over to the grill. "Taiyang wants to start the grill in an hour or so. But he lost the lighter."

"I brought a pasta salad." James announced, just so that Summer knew. "I don't know if-"

"We didn't make anything like that." Summer answered, picking up on what James was asking. "I do know that Taiyang and Qrow picked out ice cream for the girls though."

"Why are we talking about me?" A third voice split into the conversation, and Qrow was stepping outside of the house, with Taiyang in tow. He looked between James and Summer and stepped outside, setting down a folding lawn chair near the grass at James' side. Why did he have to do that? James thought. "I didn't do anything wrong."

"We're talking about the food, Little Bird." Summer giggled the nickname out. "You didn't mention that James was bringing anything."

"Oh." Qrow said, flopping down into his seat. "Yeah, I guess not."

James looked between Summer and Qrow. "I hope I'm not imposing-"

"Oh, you're fine." Summer smiled at him. Just on cue, Taiyang stepped out of the house, with a barbeque lighter in hand. He looked between Summer, Qrow, and James, and smiled widely. He held up the lighter, announcing that it was time for them to start cooking.

Taiyang looked at Qrow. "Get the meat out of the fridge?"

Qrow stood up, and for just a moment his and James' eyes locked. James was sure to look away immediately. "Sure thing, Tai Tai."

With Qrow inside, Taiyang smiled down at James and offered his right hand. "Glad you made it."

"It wasn't any problem." James offered his hand, stiffly and gave Taiyang's hand a quick shake with his own right hand. Almost immediately he pulled away, worried that someone would point out the choice in wardrobe, or worse, the hardness of his hand. "If you need any help-"

"I don't think I'll need any now that I have the lighter." Taiyang laughed. He turned towards the pool, where once in awhile one of the girls' heads would bob into view. "Girls, come tell me what you want for dinner!"

Ruby was the first out of the pool, half-flinging herself over the side of it and running across the yard, followed closely by Yang and Penny, who walked the way over. Coming closely after the girls was Zwei, who had been resting on the shady side of the pool.

The kids reached the patio, and Ruby was the first to speak up, always bursting with energy. She blinked twice, and looked up at Taiyang. "Can I have a cheeseburger?"

"Sure thing, Rubes." Taiyang looked to Yang now. "Same thing?"

"Can I get bacon on mine?" Yang asked, wringing some of the water out of her blonde pigtails.

"Yeah, I'll get your uncle to make some." Taiyang turned his eyes to Penny now, who was standing a bit behind Ruby and Yang. Shy as ever. James worried for a moment, worried that Penny would be too nervous to give an answer to Taiyang "What about you, Penny?"

Penny's eyes flicked between James and Taiyang and then back to James. "Could I have what Ruby's having?" Her voice was quiet. Restrained. Scared.

James' heart clenched in his chest.

"Of course." Taiyang smiled at the girl. He stepped away from the grill and poked his head into the house. "Could you make some bacon while you're in there, Qrow?"

Qrow came to the door, carrying a cutting board that looked like it held a number of homemade burger patties. He stepped outside, and set the board on the table just in front of James, since the space was empty. "Why do you need bacon?" Qrow's voice rasped out as he turned his eyes onto Taiyang.

"It's for me." Yang piped up, dragging Qrow's attention over to her. Qrow nodded and stepped away from the table.

"I guess that means you're also having bacon then." Qrow said, turning his eyes onto Taiyang now. "How much should I make?"

"Just make the whole package if you can." Taiyang replies. There's a moment of quiet, and then Taiyang is speaking up again. "I'm guessing you're having what I'm having, Qrow?"

"Yeah, sure." Qrow says, stepping back inside.

Now Taiyang looked at James. James swallows, realizing that Taiyang had probably figured out that he was a bit different with that handshake earlier. He didn't want too much scrutiny, but he would be fine. James opened his mouth to give an answer to Taiyang. "Just a burger, please."

"No problem boss." Taiyang smiled widely. James looked to the door to the house and then at Taiyang.

"I'm going to go keep Qrow company in the kitchen." James mumbled. He saw Penny's eyes sadden for just a moment, and it felt like a shot thought through his chest. He didn't know what he could say to Penny to comfort her. Instead, he just reached out, wrapped his arms around Penny and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Go play. If you need me, I'll be right inside."

"Yes, father." Penny said, sounding somewhat dejected. He looked at the door, and let out a heavy sigh. "Could I-"

"Sure." James said, knowing what the girl was asking for already. "We'll get you a soda and you can sit with me and Qrow while we cook."

"Thank you." Penny blinked.

"Get your towel." James instructed. Penny opened her mouth to say something, and it was then that James realized that Penny's towel was still out in his car. "...It's still in the car." He stood up straight, relaxed a moment. "Wait here for a moment, ok?"

Penny nodded, and James turned, crossing through the house and going out to the car. He unlocked it with a chirp, and pulled open the door to the backseat, half sliding in so that he could get a towel that he usually kept in the backseat anyways just in case something happened. He pulled it out, and on the way out of the car, James paused.

He never really knew how his body was going to react to things. It was a hot day, and he was sure that the heat was going to start taking a toll on him at any moment. And he really didn't want for that to happen. James swallowed. Frowned. Went to the passenger's side seat at the front of his car so that he could get a bottle of pills out of his glove box.

Deciding that he had everything he needed, James closed the car, careful to lock it before heading back inside. James went to the door where Penny was waiting and passed her the towel so that she could dry off, which the girl began to do almost immediately.

In the kitchen, he could hear the sound of Qrow moving pots and pans around, and he almost wanted to ask what Qrow was doing there, but he figured that he'd have time to talk about it when they did actually cook.

With Penny dried off, James stepped into the kitchen with her in tow. Penny took a seat at a small table, and James went to the fridge and opened it up, removing the large bowl of pasta salad that he'd brought so that he could set it outside once all of the food was done.

Qrow finally spoke up.

"Miss me that much Jimmy?"

"Please don't call me that in front of my daughter, Qrow." James sighed, finding a can of soda and holding it up for Penny to approve. Earning a nod, James stepped to the table, and slid into the seat beside Penny. He opened up the can and Penny drank from it happily.

Qrow turned around, facing him and Penny now as he waited for the pan to heat up to the point where he could make the bacon. The man's eyes traveled over James and Penny. He raised an eyebrow, then spoke up. "Having fun?"

"Yeah." James mumbled. "Wanted to make sure that you weren't left all on your own while you cooked."

"Thanks." Qrow chuckled. He looked at Penny now, who was setting down her can of soda. "Having fun with my nieces?"

"Yes Mister Qrow."

"Just call me Qrow, kid."

James sucked in on his cheek, not sure what Penny was going to say or do as a response to the request. He looked across the table to her, and then to Qrow.

And then..

"Ok, Qrow." Penny's voice piped up. "Thank you for asking how I am."

James felt a wave of relief. He'd been worried that Penny would feel out of place here, or too afraid to spend time with anyone.

Qrow smiled, and looked over at James. "How do you like your bacon, Jim?"

"I don't care for it." James replied. "Just make it how you know Taiyang and your niece like it."

"Sure thing."

The patter of two sets of feet entering the kitchen broke through the quiet of the kitchen. Qrow perked up immediately, to see that Ruby and Yang were both there. James watched as Qrow's eyes slid between the two girls.

James had a feeling that he knew where exactly this was going.

Ruby spoke up. "Penny?"

Penny perked up, still gripping the can of soda that was on the table in front of him. "Yes, Ruby?"

"Uh, well..." Ruby looked up at Qrow for a second, then at James, then back to Penny. "We asked mom and dad whether you could stay the night if you wanted to and so we wanted to ask-"

Penny's green eyes widened, and she turned her attention to James. James nodded at Penny, giving her permission to answer as she wished. Penny spoke up. "I think I would like to Ruby." She looked up at James. "Can I?"

And oh, the hope in her eyes just melted through every part of James. He smiled down at Penny. "Your things are already in the car, so I don't see why not. I'll have to talk to Ruby and Yang's parents though."

"But I can?"

"Yeah." James stood up, picking up the large bowl of pasta salad. For a moment, James and Qrow's eyes met as an understanding of the reversal from what was normal for them. They couldn't make this weird. This was about the kids.

Qrow placed the first strips of bacon on the skillet. James stepped outside to talk to Taiyang and Summer.

And just like that, a sleepover was arranged.


	16. Role Reversals

Qrow should have expected to share the living room with James. It had become quickly apparent that there wasn't room for both him and James to sleep, and it had been decided while he made bacon that it was best for James to stay there overnight. Which he was more than okay with.

It also meant that for the first time since university, Qrow's bed was going to be a pile of blankets on the floor.

And to Qrow's surprise, he was ok with that.

The rest of the day was a light affair. It was full of the girls running around the house and playing, and Zwei's happy barking, and the chance to really see James in a social context for the first time, without work on either of their minds.

It was nice.

And for Qrow?

He liked that it was a chance for things to get better between the two of them. It was a chance to breathe and actually get to know James better. No car rides, no burner phones, no explosives in the car.

Now, it was all barbeque and relaxing on the couch while the kids made a blanket fort in the living room that would be used for a movie night, which would later become Qrow's bed. Which was awesome.

Qrow loved blanket forts, and there wasn't anyone he trusted to make a good one more than three kids under the age of ten.

At around seven, the girls began building the blanket fort in the living room, leaving the adults to the kitchen. Qrow was leaned against a cabinet, a bottle of beer in his hand, while James sat at a table with Taiyang. Summer sat on the countertop with a half-emptied glass of wine in her hand.

Taiyang was gesticulating wildly, with a bottle of beer in his hand, telling a story about his university days to James, who seemed to be politely laughing along. Qrow didn't even mind the secondhand embarrassment from Taiyang.

"-so we'd been at university for what a…?"

"A month, Taiyang."

"Right." Taiyang laughed into his beer. "And we were at a friend's dorm. Just drinking and stuff. And Qrow-"

"Taiyang, no."

"Taiyang, yes." Taiyang drank deeply from his beer. "He ends up drinking four russian bulls in one night."

Qrow sighed, sipping at his beer as Taiyang relayed a story about running nude through the Autumn dorms at Beacon University and getting thrown out at around nine in the evening. The story was mostly correct, but…

"Taiyang." Summer sighed into her glass of wine. "That was you."

Taiyang blinked twice. Stared down into the depths of his bottle. This was something that Qrow had seen a hundred times, every time a result of Taiyang's own folly and memory that had been left hazy with alcohol.

Qrow shook his head and smiled. "How about we let Tai Tai finish his story before we correct him."

"How sweet of you." Taiyang laughed. "Anyways, so he got thrown out, and then the rest of us got thrown out for being with him. If we lived in that dorm, they probably would have forced an early bedtime on all of us."

"Except it was you." Qrow chuckled into his beer. "You were the one who did all of that."

"I don't remember it that way." Taiyang said, trying to make himself look like less of an embarrassment.

James spoke for the first time. "Perhaps the four Russian Bulls have something to do with that."

Taiyang's face went red. He looked to Summer, floundering for a way to make himself less of an embarrassment. Qrow, realizing what was happening decided to speak up and turn the attention away from Taiyang.

"Hey, Jim?"

"Yes?" James asked, looking amongst the three others that were in the kitchen.

Shit, what was he doing?

Qrow thought fast, looking for a good thing to ask James, if only for the sake of making Taiyang feel a bit better. Deciding that university was a good option, Qrow asked a question. "Did you ever do the university thing?"

"Uh, I did." James said. "Not like you three did though."

"Let me guess, you were a social shut in?" Qrow sipped his beer. Watched James' face.

"Not quite." James answered. He lifted a mug of coffee- he'd insisted on that instead of sharing drinks like the rest of them. "I graduated high school a semester early, and ended up at Atlas Military Academy. Did my four years, then paid it back with service until I was honorably discharged"

Qrow blinked twice. He'd known that James had been military, but that was new.

Taiyang let out a whistle between sips of his drink. "Smart boy. What'd you study?"

"I double majored in Engineering and Architecture. Not that I use either degree these days." James looked away from all of them, and for a long moment Qrow realized that this was James, very much outside of his element. And suddenly everything that he knew about James made a lot more sense.

Summer cocked her head. Her dark red hair swayed with the motion, and she blinked. "Out of work?"

"Just in a different field right now." James answered. "I'm doing security with Qrow until I can get back into a more professional setting again."

"Any cool scars?" Taiyang asked now, bringing all of the attention in the room onto James. Qrow felt something clench in his chest at the realization of what Taiyang had just done. James was insecure, there was no way that he was going to show anything. "You're military, right?"

"I was military." James' eyes went down to his hands, and Qrow watched as the gloved right hand clenched and unclenched. "And yeah, I have a couple nasty ones." James' voice was controlled, if scared.

Qrow supposed that was a very good thing.

His and Summer's eyes met from across the kitchen. He saw a mischievous smile split her face. He was at a loss for what she was going to do, but then he heard her voice.

"Why don't you show us one or two? I like scars."

Qrow's eyes shot over to James as the realization of what Summer was doing sunk in.

Shit.

The tips of James' ears turned pink, and Qrow heard him sigh.

Slowly, James' hand went to his left sleeve, and Qrow watched as James rolled it up to reveal an ugly scar, peeking out from below James' sleeve, where he'd stopped rolling it up at the elbow. Watched as James peeled the shirt up just a bit more.

Saw the bloom of a circular scar as it appeared on James' arm.

James pulled his hand away from the arm, displaying the part of the scar that he was able to without disrobing at all. Qrow stared, wondering what it was from. It had to have a story. He was sure that one day he would find out.

And to Qrow's surprise, James began to explain.

"I was released from the army on an honorable discharge." James explained to Summer and Taiyang, who were both looking at James' arm with wide eyes and interest. "Took a bullet in the arm, and another in my stomach that I'd rather not show. Shattered several bones."

Summer reached out, and for a moment, it looked like she was about to run her fingers over the scar. James jerked back, and Qrow watched as the man roughly tugged his sleeve back down over his arm, all the way back down to the wrist.

Qrow wondered about that other scar.

Wondered whether he'd ever get to see it.

In the other room, there was a squeak of excitement. "Dad!" Ruby's voice called. "Dad, we're ready!"

Taiyang shrugged. Finished off his beer. "I think that's our sign to join the girls."

"Of course." James said, standing up with his coffee. Qrow watched as James left the room. Absentmindedly, he hopped down from his seat on the counter, doing the same as Taiyang had done and draining his beer.

With James and Taiyang gone, Qrow's eyes locked with Summer. His mind rushed as he tried to think of what he wanted to say to the woman. How he wanted to express his displeasure with what she had done.

There weren't words for it. Not really.

Summer sipped her glass and slipped down from the counter. "What's wrong, little bird?"

"Why did you-"

"Don't act like you don't know why, Qrow. He relaxed, didn't he?" Summer deadpanned before stepping into the living room. Qrow heard her voice as she congratulated the children on their pillow fort that they'd built.

Qrow clenched his fists and grit his teeth. This wasn't the time or the place to get angry, he reminded himself. He didn't even really know why he was angry, just that he was.

All at once, Qrow shoved the feeling back. He brushed his hair out of his face, and went into the living room, where he saw that Penny, Yang, and Ruby were all snuggled up on the floor, while Taiyang and Summer had made themselves comfortable on one side of the couch.

There was a small gap between them, and then James, who was looking at his phone for some reason. Qrow approached the couch. "Jim?"

James looked up at Qrow. He watched as James opened his mouth to say something, but no sounds came out. Watched James' blue eyes- too blue, Qrow thought, went to the space on the couch beside him.

"Take it." James finally said, shifting slightly to the side to make room for Qrow.

Qrow slipped into the space, finding himself between James and Summer, who was cuddling in against Taiyang. He heard Taiyang's voice, laughing about how fun the movie was going to be. When he looked over at James, he realized that the man was ordering pizza.

"What're you getting?"

"Cheese and pepperoni." James said, not letting himself get too personal. "Figured since you all handled lunch I would get dinner."

"Huh." Qrow said. He shifted on the seat, trying to make himself comfortable as he realized that he was pressed against James' left side.

Of course.

If it were the right side, he was sure that James would have given him a sharp reprimand for it.

Maybe.

Okay, probably.

Qrow realized then and there that he didn't really know how James would have reacted.

He didn't really know how James would react to anything these days.

God, he'd really messed things up, hadn't he?

Theirs was a relationship between coworkers.

Even if he wanted it to be a social one too, that's all it was.

He never wanted to share an elevator with James Ironwood again.

At his side, James stored his phone away again, quietly murmuring that the pizza was coming to the room. Summer nodded, and reached for the remote, turning on the movie for the girls to watch, which earned three excited cheers.

It was a welcome excuse.

Qrow turned his brain off, or tried to at least.

Tried to make himself less aware of the fact that he was currently pressed between James and Summer.

Tried to make himself less aware of James' quiet breathing.

Tried to focus on the plot that was playing out on the tv instead.

It wasn't easy. Qrow couldn't really concentrate on a movie. It just wasn't in him. It felt like every piece of him was at war with itself.

Talk to James.

No.

Watch the movie.

No.

Get a drink.

No.

Talk to Summer.

No.

Get up and leave.

No.

Qrow drew his legs up onto the couch, and folded them against his body. He felt James shift slightly at his side, only to realize that James was making more room for him. Either it was that or James was trying very hard to avoid any physical contact.

Finally, Qrow managed to get comfortable and focus on the movie. He was actually getting into it, interested to find out what happened to the boy and his sister as they ventured further into the fairy tale world.

Had he been a child, Qrow was sure that he would have put himself in the place of the boy. Always protecting his sister. Always looking out for Raven.

Old habits died hard, he figured.

His concentration on the film was broken by James shifting on the couch. The taller man stood up, and walked to the door- had the bell rung?

Qrow let his eyes slide over to James so that he could watch as James bought the pizzas and paid for it. He didn't see James' face or hear the man's voice. Qrow didn't mind that so much. When the door closed, Qrow ripped his eyes away in fear of being noticed.

Summer moved now, pausing the tv and earning some quiet protests from the girls. However, the announcement that pizza had arrived quieted them down. James went to the kitchen to drop off the pizza and the girls followed after him.

With a sigh, Qrow got up and went to the kitchen himself, with Taiyang following after him. When he stepped in, what he saw was that Summer had gotten a pie knife, and passed it to James, who was carefully lifting slices of pizza onto plates for the girls. Once they were gone, James' eyes met Qrow's.

"Pepperoni?" James asked, gesturing to one of the two pizzas.

"Yeah." Qrow said. Watched as Summer passed James a plate, watched James separate another slice of food from the pizza and set it on the plate before passing it off to Qrow.

Qrow took the pizza, and waited for the moment when he and James were alone in the kitchen. Silently, he watched as James got himself a piece of pizza, choosing a slice of cheese pizza. "Should we rejoin them?" Qrow asked, looking to the door.

"Probably." James mumbled back.

Qrow realized then that James was stalling. Like he felt as though he was horribly out of place and didn't want to go back into the living room and face everyone that was there.

All at once, realization dawned on Qrow. He realized what was going on with James. The quietness, the stalling. Qrow's red eye widened, and finally he spoke, voice gentle as a whisper. "You feel out of place here, don't you?"

James leaned back against the counter. He didn't do anything to reach out for the pizza, and he didn't do anything to draw Qrow's attention away from it. "Yeah." James said a moment later. "I'm happy for Penny to be here but..."

"But everyone else is family?"

"Yeah." James said after some hesitation. "I just don't think I'm like you."

Qrow cocked his head, trying to figure out what James meant. It almost seemed like there was some sort of mental block that was keeping James from enjoying himself properly there. "What do you mean?"

James shrugged. "This just..." Hesitated. "I just don't fit here, is all."

Qrow looked down at the plate of pizza in his hands and set it down on the counter next to the boxes of pizza. There was a long moment, where he watched James. Considered stepping close and ending that gap that existed between them.

All at once, the weight of the space became crushingly heavy. Qrow could almost feel himself suffocating from it, and he wanted to stop. But he wanted so badly to mimic that moment in the elevator. Wanted to have that moment again, but this time normally. This time without James needing an instant shot of painkillers.

This time, with feeling.

Or feelings.

Whichever came first.

Qrow took that first step forward, small as it was. Took the chance to look up into James' eyes. "Jim?"

James, realizing what was happening stepped back and out of the way. "Qrow, this won't-"

"I know." Qrow sighed. He looked at the small entrance that led out into the living room. "You don't want to rejoin them, do you?"

James sucked in a quiet breath. Looked to the door. Hesitated.

"I don't know." James said finally. "I'm intending to go to sleep once the movie's done, though."

"Hey," Qrow started and stopped, unsure whether he should ask another question or just go back to the living room and give James some space. He made a decision, and asked a question. "Are you going to be alright?"

"What do you mean?"

"On the couch." Qrow said. Let his eyes wander back over to the pizza on the counter. "It's just... the last time we-"

"Yeah." James grimaced. "I know."

"What happened, Jim?"

"Stress."

That was a lie. A blatant lie.

The realization that James had lied to him so plainly shot a pain through his chest that wasn't at all welcome. If he knew that James would have lied to him, Qrow wouldn't have asked about it. But Qrow didn't want to ruin this.

Calling James out for lying to him wasn't what he wanted to do.

He knew how bad James got when he was shoved into a corner.

"Well... will you be ok on the couch?"

James sighed. "Yeah, I think so. I'll just double down on the painkillers for a night or something."

The volume of the tv in the other room spiked for a moment, and Qrow quickly became aware of the fact that the movie was probably part of the reason for James' quiet resistance to going back into the living room.

Qrow looked to the door, then back to James. "You know we should go back in there right? We don't want Summer and Taiyang-"

"Right." James said, though it sounded horribly forced. He reached out and picked up the plate of pizza that he'd set aside for himself.

Qrow took up his own plate, and led the way out to the living room. If people asked about the wait, he would just say that he and James both had a slice of pizza in the kitchen before coming back out into the living room. Hopefully, nobody would question that little detail, or notice that the amount of pizza that had been in the boxes hadn't changed at all.

They crossed the living room, and James sank down into the couch first, with Qrow following immediately after once he was sure that James was comfortable. When he sat down, he felt Summer shift at his side slightly.

Felt her and Taiyang's eyes on him and James.

Qrow shot Summer a look for a split second before facing forward to watch the movie, which seemed to be reaching its climax sooner than later.

Slowly, he managed to get back into the film. Once in awhile, he would nibble at his pizza, or would shift on the couch, but he did his best to stay out of anyone's lines of attention. This was about the kids, not him, or Tai, or James, or anyone above the age of ten.

The second that the movie was over, Taiyang flipped the lights on in the living room. The lights hurt Qrow's eyes, and for a moment he blinked, trying to get the pain to ebb away, which it did quickly.

He wished that his hangovers would ease as easily.

Alas, there was no chance of that happening.

"C'mon girls. Bedtime." Taiyang announced. On the floor, Ruby, Yang and Penny all whined a bit before getting up. Ruby rubbed at her eyes, and Yang stretched, standing up on the tips of her toes as she made herself feel less like she hadn't been lying on the floor immobile for two hours.

Penny smoothed down her clothes, and yawned quietly, raising a hand to her mouth with the motion. She blinked once or twice and then went to the couch.

Qrow didn't immediately register that she was looking for a hug from James, who had stood up and was graciously welcoming a hug from his daughter. He simply sat on the couch, watching. Watched James stroke Penny's orange hair.

Heard James whisper comforting words and I love yous to his daughter.

Finally, Penny stepped away, following Ruby and Yang to their bedroom for the night.

Summer and Taiyang spirited themselves off to bed, leaving James and Qrow alone in the living room.

Qrow watched as James slowly- the movements were stiff, he realized- began to fix the cushions on the couch. Watched as James began to arrange pillows at the end of couch which faced away from the window.

He looked down at the mess of pillows and blankets on the floor. He leaned over to begin arranging them to be more comfortable, more like a bed instead of a pile of blankets and pillows that had been set out with the purpose of making three girls comfortable for a movie.

Qrow lifted up one of the blankets, a dark blue one made of some fluffy material. He held it out to James, who looked at the blanket and hesitated for a long moment before pulling it over to the couch.

James set the blanket down at the foot of the couch, and then hesitated. "I have to go out to the car for a moment." He announced, quietly. He stepped out of the room, and left Qrow alone.

Slowly, Qrow lowered himself down onto the mess of blankets and pillows, and reached over to his duffel bag, stripping off his shirt and tossing it in so that he could sleep comfortably. Qrow rifled around in the bag for just a moment, finding his pajama pants and slipped off to the bathroom to change.

When he returned, Taiyang was up, passing a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt to James, who was shyly accepting them. It seemed that Taiyang had realized that James was there with nothing more than his sweater and slacks. Penny had her clothes, but that must have been because James had picked her up that morning.

Qrow doubted that James would wear the t-shirt that Taiyang had given him.

James took the clothes and silently slid away to the bathroom, where Qrow was sure he would change.

Qrow shook his head, and seated himself on the pillow and blanket bed that had been set out for him. Tried to make himself comfortable. Tried desperately not to think about the fact that James was probably currently nude in his bathroom.

With a quiet sigh, Qrow let his eyes drift shut and tried to think of anything but James. Tried to think about the pizza that was in the kitchen. Tried to think about what the morning would look like- he was probably going to be expected to make everyone breakfast in the morning. It was a normal occurrence for him to have to do that. He was sure that he wouldn't mind.

It'd probably be pancakes and bacon as usual, but James didn't like bacon-

The sound of James' uneven footsteps made Qrow sit up and open his eyes. What he saw was James, dressed in a pair of loose pajama pants and a t-shirt that hung off of him just enough to make him look good. Qrow's eyes wandered over James' body for a second. He drank in the sight of James' neck, and the spiderwebs of scar tissue peeking up over the collar of the shirt. He saw the ugly scar on James' left arm. Saw the silver sheen of James' right.

Politely, he looked away.

James seated himself on the couch, barely three feet away from Qrow, and Qrow could hear him sigh. Heard the sound of a bottle of pills being opened and its contents being poured out into the palm of James' hand- the white tablets clinked quietly against metal. Listened as James took the medication.

Heard James' voice.

"Qrow?" It was shy, unlike how Qrow had ever heard it before. This was very much not the James that he'd gotten to know. "Why are you... staring at the wall?"

Shit.

He was doing that, wasn't he?

Qrow swallowed and turned, lying on his back and staring up the ceiling now. He blinked twice, and let his eyes wander over to James, who was pulling a blanket over his legs. For the first time, Qrow realized that there was something off about James' body. Not just the scars and the metallic arm. He was completely lopsided, uneven.

Not that any of that detracted from how good he looked.

Finally, Qrow thought of something to say. "Oh, I uh.. I know you don't like being looked at or whatever."

"Oh." James' voice was low. Gravelly. Tired.

Qrow wondered if that was a result of James' medication kicking in or not. "I know it's uncomfortable. Being here."

"It is." James mumbled. "I'll just... get up before anyone can see me." James' voice was tight, almost pained. Qrow looked over, seeing that James was turning onto his side to hide his arm. Pulling a blanket up over himself so that he couldn't be seen. Saw James turn away from him.

"It bothers you that much, doesn't it?"

"It does." James muttered. "It's not... it's just not me."

"Does it hurt?"

"Usually." James shifted again, turning onto his back and looking down at Qrow. Qrow propped his head up on one arm, blinked, and stared up at James. James hesitated, considered saying something for himself. "My leg's also..." James stopped talking. Voice tight. Blinked twice. "That crash ruined me."

Oh.

That explained the uneven footfalls then. And the way that James hadn't been able to walk late in that job.

Qrow hesitated, and looked up at James. "Does Penny know?"

"Yeah." James mumbled. "Laurel would bring her to the hospital to see me."

"That's your wife's name?"

"Yes." James mumbled. "Ex-wife, at least." Again, James shifted on the couch, trying to make himself comfortable. Qrow could guess that James was waiting for his medications to kick in at that point. Waiting for all of his pain the ebb away and be replaced with...

Qrow didn't know.

Nothing, maybe.

"I'm guessing you don't have anyone." James says, staring up at the ceiling. "Based on the other day."

"I'm still sorry about that, James." Qrow said. "I... I shouldn't have done that. You're trying to get your wife back or whatever."

"Is that really what you think is going on? I told you the truth, Qrow." James asked, brow furrowing. "I... I don't want to be with Laurel anymore. I know she won't want me back, even if I did."

Qrow had to search through his mind in an attempt to figure out what James was trying to say. He had a feeling about what James meant by that, but he didn't want to ask. Didn't want to ask whether it had to do with the divorce, or whether it was something else. About his body, and the ways that things had changed over the last year. Qrow wanted to ask about it, but he had a feeling of what the reaction would be.

He expected James to snap at him if he tried.

"Do you still love her?"

"I don't know." James sighed the words out. Qrow saw James blink twice and look away from him. "I married her, didn't I?"

"You did." Qrow muttered. "But she broke your heart, didn't she?"

"She did." James mumbled. Qrow looked over, seeing that James was shifting his pillow around and trying to make himself more comfortable on the couch. "But you never forget your first love or something." James sounded unbelievably bitter.

Qrow let his eyes wander over James' features, and he drank them in and tried to piece together what he was feeling. He figured that he could have gotten up and separated himself from James. He could have gone and gotten a drink instead of lay there and listened to James, whose voice was beginning to become more and more dreamlike.

"Are we still going to be able to work together James?" Qrow closed his eyes, and inhaled deeply. "I fucked things up."

"I think so." James mumbled, snuggling into his pillow and letting his eyes flit shut. "I need to sleep, Qrow."

"Pills kicking in?"

"Mhmm." James hummed, pulling the blanket further up over himself. "Goodnight, Qrow."

"Goodnight, James."

Those were the last words that James and Qrow said to each other that night. The sound of James' quiet snoring filled the room, and Qrow was left staring up at the ceiling, wondering about this conversation. Wondering whether he would wake up in the morning, and whether James was going to be able to remember any of this from his pill-induced haze. Whether James would go straight back to hating him.

Something harsh clenched in his chest.

Something strong, evil, and familiar.


	17. Ebb

James got up early that morning, immediately took his medication, and went off to the bathroom to change before anyone could get a chance to see him.

When he let himself stare into the mirror that morning, he didn't want to accept what he saw there. There were a lot of things that James was sure had happened the night before, but he couldn't be sure. There was so much that felt like it was missing, like it had been but a dream.

He looked down, away from the mirror. Away from the stretch of scarred skin that drew his eye every time James looked at himself, its ugliness all that he could notice.

James leaned forward and turned on the tap, splashing some water into his face so that he could at least rid his mind of some of the things that weighed down on him. He gripped the side of the sink, and stared down at the hands.

Uneven.

Mismatched.

Wrong.

He had to hide this. Had to stop thinking about this.

He couldn't stop thinking about this.

James straightened up and pulled his sweater on, finally hiding himself away from the world. He wet his bare left hand under the faucet, and ran the hand through his hair, trying to smooth it into place before he went to the door.

His hand hovered over the doorknob. He had to go out there.

Qrow was probably awake by now.

James really didn't want to talk to Qrow right now. He really didn't want to have to face whatever they'd talked about the night before. He didn't know what to look forward to.

Maybe if he at least knew this would be easier.

James steeled himself. Reached out for the doorknob, and gently gripped it. Pushed the door open and stepped outside of the tiny bathroom. Tried to ignore the way that his heart was beating against his chest.

In the living room, Qrow still was on the small bed that they'd built on the floor for him. James stopped, just as he was about to go in, and considered going to sit out in his car instead, or going to the kitchen. He couldn't wake Qrow with his uneven footsteps if he didn't go into the living room, at the very least.

He could go to the kitchen, sit there, and have a glass of water, and avoid everything.

No.

That was stupid.

It was better for him to go back to the couch and act like there wasn't anything wrong. That way, nobody would look at him weirdly. Penny wouldn't worry about him that way. Qrow wouldn't look at him and know that it had to do with his arm or his leg. He sighed, inhaling deeply before crossing the living room as carefully as he could before seating himself on the couch.

It creaked under his weight.

James winced, and let his eyes fall on Qrow. Let himself concentrate on not waking Qrow as he carefully brought his legs up onto the couch where they couldn't make a sound against the floor.

On the floor, Qrow shifted, and James realized that he'd failed, and that Qrow was probably going to be getting up anyways. James laid down, and tried to control his breathing. He wanted to take his painkillers and a sleep tab and let those little chalky pieces of white and blue take him away and bring him to another world where nobody could bother him.

But it was morning. He couldn't do that.

James reached out to a tiny table, picked up his phone where he'd left it and turned it on, checking his messages for whether he had any new texts. He settled back into the couch and pulled a blanket over his feet, and focused on the phone, not on Qrow.

"Hey." Qrow's voice came from the space on the floor beside him. He heard the rustling of Qrow's blankets, and let his eyes flick over for just a second.

James opened his mouth to say something, then looked back at the small screen of his phone. "Morning." He said. His voice was tight, and James did his best to hide this fact. "Nobody's up yet."

Qrow sat up where he was lying, scratching at his hair and his chin, which was covered in more stubble than it would have been normally, and blinked once or twice, focusing his eyes on James. "What time is it?"

"Six." James said, voice managing some sort of distance. "Go back to sleep."

Qrow stood up, and James realized that as he stood up, Qrow tugged up on the waistband of his pajama pants so that they wouldn't slip down his body. "Don't tell me what to do, Jimmy."

"It's James."

"I know." Qrow left the living room, and James was alone again. He took the minute to take his painkillers, albeit dry. He didn't want people realizing that anything was wrong that day. They didn't need to know about the twinge of pain that shot up his arm, or anything else for that matter. No. That was all between him, Penny, and Qrow.

And even then, it was mostly his business.

James swallowed the pill, and leaned back into the couch. When Qrow came back in, he was looking tired as ever. He seated himself down on the nest that had been left on the floor and stretched. "Why're you up?"

"Nerves."

Pain.

Qrow nodded slowly, and James couldn't tell whether the man had figured out what he actually meant or not. He didn't want to know whether Qrow had figured it out or not.

"Wanna get out of here?" Qrow mumbled.

"What?" James looked up from his phone- he was hovering on a message from Roman. His eyes went to Qrow, who was sitting there looking like there was nothing wrong. No, Qrow didn't know, James told himself. This was just Qrow being weird in that case.

"You know, go for a walk or something. Get breakfast?"

"I thought we were making the girls breakfast." James said quietly. "We should probably be here for when that happens."

"Someone has to get bacon for this morning, though." Qrow smirked. His eyes flicked away for a moment, and James wasn't sure whether there was anything meant by the gesture. "Unless... you aren't feeling up to going out?"

James sighed. "I just took my pills," he began, looking down at the message from Roman still. He couldn't piece together the message said just yet that morning. "It takes some time for them to kick in."

"After we can take your car. Get the bacon or whatever we need." Qrow leaned back in his nest, uncrossing his legs and looking out the sliding door at the yard, where the sun was beginning to peek up over the high fence on the other side of the yard. "It's been nice having you here."

James stopped. He hit the button on the top of his phone that would turn off his screen. He'd be able to process whatever it was that Roman wanted later on probably. "I'm happy to have been able to bring Penny."

"But what about you?" Qrow blinked. "Are you happy to be here?"

"I don't know." James finally said with a heavy sigh on his lips. He laid back into the couch, closed his eyes, and tried to focus on making himself more comfortable. More like he could actually go about his day without being in too much pain, or without upsetting Penny. And now he didn't know whether he was already throwing away the possibility of a good morning with Qrow or not.

It was already bad enough that James had gotten up at six in the morning on a Sunday for the sake of avoiding people seeing what his right arm looked like.

What a mess he was.

Qrow turned in his nest, trying to face James and catch his eyes. "So... about this breakfast thing?"

"Yes, Qrow?"

"Do you actually hate bacon or-"

"No," James said. "Mostly indifferent to it these days."

Qrow nodded. James turned on the couch now to face Qrow. "So if we have to get things for breakfast, it'll probably be what- eggs, bacon, orange juice?"

"We'll need to get milk." Qrow said. "And cheese. Just to make sure that we can make it through the day."

"Alright." James relaxed, letting his left arm pillow his head on the couch. For just a moment, he let his eyes slip shut, and focused on the feelings in his limbs. All of the pains that he'd built up from the day before were beginning to ebb away from him, and he was sure that soon he'd be able to go out and do things and feel vaguely normal.

Qrow looked at the phone, which James was still gripping in his right hand. "Anything going on I should know about?"

"Roman texted me." James mumbled. "I think it was about the payout but-"

"But you've just taken your medication."

"Right." James said. "I'll be able to put it together once my body adjusts a bit."

Qrow chuckled- James didn't know why. He stood up, and stretched his arms back behind him for just a moment. Qrow dropped his arms to his sides, and stretched. "I should go get dressed."

"Yeah." James said. "You should."

"Nice talk, Jimmy."

"It's James."

Qrow smirked at him, turned, and left the room. For just a moment too long, James let his gaze linger.

What was wrong with him this morning? Qrow was a co-worker, nothing else.

He blinked once. Twice. Banished thoughts of Qrow from his head and finally tried to read that message from Roman, finally tried to comprehend what he was being asked for.

He only had to read it once this time- meeting on Monday night.

If the meeting was that immediate, that meant that they were going to be seeing a payout for their last job sooner than later. Mentally, James went through his list of priorities in an attempt to figure out exactly what it was that he wanted to focus his money into first. He figured that his medical bills should probably be his highest priority, but he'd also have to pay for his electric and water, and those were always major concerns.

In the back of his head, a voice screamed a quiet suggestion to him.

He could hire a lawyer.

Fight to get Penny back.

The thought of it left a bitter taste in his mouth.

James loved Penny more than anything, this was true. However, he didn't want to leave his daughter hurt or upset because of his own pettiness. He'd seen more than enough bad custody battles to know that they were torture on the children involved. He didn't want to put Penny through that, and yet...

He shook the thought from his head. He knew it wouldn't be long before it came back. He knew more than well enough to know that he'd be back to thinking about getting custody again much sooner than later.

Qrow came into the living room, now wearing a dark red t-shirt with some sort of bird motif- James couldn't guess whether Qrow had purchased the shirt for himself or not. He had a feeling that it could go either way, but he didn't know whether he wanted to speculate on it or not. Qrow smiled at James from across the room. "Ready to go, Jimmy?"

James blinked. "Yeah, I'm ready." He finally said, standing up and brushing down the front of his pants, making sure that they didn't look like they'd been worn the day before. "You mind driving?"

"Nah." Qrow answered. "I know you don't like doing it."

James nodded. Reached over to the tiny table that was beside the couch where he'd left his keys the night before. He offered them to Qrow, who just pocketed the keys immediately before the two of them left the house, as quietly as they possibly could. James didn't want to wake the children, and it looked like Qrow didn't want to wake them up either.

The pair crossed the lawn, and got into James' car, with Qrow taking the driver's seat. James slipped into the passenger's seat, and before he could even think to buckle his seatbelt, he spoke up. "Qrow, don't move the seat and mirrors today, please."

"Oh, you have to drive back to Atlas tonight, don't you?"

"Pretty much as soon as I leave I have to drop Penny off." James said, looking out the window instead of over at Qrow. There was a moment of recognition in Qrow's eyes. The man's mouth opened for just a moment, then closed again. James spoke up again. "It's a necessary evil."

"You don't like dropping her off."

"I don't." James answered, matter of factly. "I went to pick her up yesterday, and she was home alone, Qrow." He shook his head, trying not to think about hiring a lawyer. Trying not to let his anger over the whole thing bubble up and over. He didn't want to drag Qrow through his family drama, not this early in the morning.

"I can't imagine life without the kids." Qrow sighed, driving towards the nearest store so that they could pick up breakfast supplies that morning. "The house would be too quiet."

'It is." James sighed. "But she's with her mother for a reason."

"Hey, so let me ask you something-" Qrow made a left turn onto the highway. Something clenched in James' chest and he found himself wringing his hands together where he sat. "-If it wasn't for your crash last year, where would Penny be living?"

"With me." James said. Looked away from Qrow. He felt his phone buzz in his pocket, probably the first reminder that it was time for him to get up that morning- normally it would have woken him up, but since he was already awake this morning, he could ignore it if he wanted to. However, he didn't like the feeling of the phone vibrating against the metal of his right leg. He didn't like how the sensation seemed to reach into his nerves and leave him wanting to lose the leg all over again.

James reached into his pocket to extract the phone. He held the phone out in front of him, turning off the notification and paused. "Roman texted me, Qrow."

"He did?"

"Yeah." James mumbled. "He wants a meeting tomorrow night, didn't say why. I'm assuming that Ozpin sent the money."

James let his eyes flick back over to Qrow. The thinner man's hands had clenched around the steering wheel, and for a moment, James realized that Qrow probably had quite a lot on his plate himself. Qrow probably had as much to think about regarding what to do with his money as James did. Qrow lived on his family's couch, after all. Qrow definitely had a lot to think about financially.

Qrow finally spoke up. "You think I could stay the night at your place maybe? Keep us from having to worry about me being on time tomorrow night?"

James hesitated. "I don't know." He looked back out the window, not really wanting to explain himself to Qrow at all. "I'd like to spend my time with Penny that i have alone with her."

"You could come get me once you've dropped her off." Qrow offered as the two of them pulled into the parking lot for a 24 hour grocery store. He drove towards the front of the parking lot, and pulled into one of the nearest parking spots. "If you wanted to."

The car parked, both of them got out of the vehicle and went inside. Once they were in, Qrow made a beeline for the department where they'd find the bacon, while James stopped at the front door to get a basket to ensure that they could actually carry the food that they picked up that morning. He wondered if Qrow always neglected to pick up a cart of some sort.

James made his way to where Qrow was, and saw that the man was digging through the bacon in search of something, though James didn't know what. Suddenly aware of James' presence, Qrow turned his head and looked up at James. "I'm looking for the discount bacon."

"I'm going to pretend that I know what that means." James deadpanned.

Qrow waved a package of bacon around in front of James' face, which only prompted James to snatch it out of his hand. "It's bacon, Qrow. You don't want the discount stuff."

"Why not?"

"Because it's all fat." James said, dropping the package of bacon into the basket. "Get another package- one with a lot of meat."

"Fine, fine." Qrow muttered, choosing a second package of bacon, which he passed off to James once he was satisfied with the selection. "That work for you?"

"Yes." James said, gently placing the package down on top of the bacon that was already in the basket.

"You know, Jim, it's weird seeing you so relaxed." Qrow said.

James shook his head, reaching into his pocket to check the time on his phone. "We should focus on the task at hand, Qrow."

"Right, right." Qrow chuckled. "I know, you want us to have a perfect breakfast or something."

"I'm doing this for you." James said, pointedly. "And for the girls. I could care less about this stuff."

"Wait, James." Qrow piped up, leading the way to the refrigerated area that held the eggs. "I know what this is about. You acting like this."

"What are you talking about?" James stared up at the egg display.

"You hate breakfast."

James shook his head. Qrow reached up into the display, pulling down a carton of eggs that he immediately checked for cracks. "These are good." Qrow announced after a moment, stepping up to drop the carton of eggs into James' basket. "Milk."

"Right." James said. He blinked. "Lead the way."

Qrow smirked, leading the way through the store to find the perfect bottle of milk to use that morning. James stood back most of the time, content to let Qrow lead and find what he wanted to use for the breakfast. It was for Qrow to figure out, James thought.

They finished picking out food for the morning, and when they went to the checkout, James immediately reached for his wallet, pulling it out and flipping it open clumsily with his left thumb. He selected his credit card and held it out, ready to pay once the food was all rang up.

"You don't have to pay, you know that right, Jimmy?"

"I know." James said. "But you're the homeless one."

"I'm not-"

"Qrow, you live on your in-law's couch."

"Right." Qrow conceded. "Good point."

James and Qrow stood by, watching the cashier as she rang up the groceries. She couldn't have been any older than Winter, James thought.

Like the girl at the gas station.

God, he still didn't even know if she made it out or not. Or whether someone had stopped to check on the other cashier. Left laying out in the open to die.

What was wrong with him?

"-James?"

Qrow's voice snapped him back to reality. James shook his head, and blinked. "What?"

"Are you going to pay?" Qrow was staring at him. So was the cashier.

"Right." james stepped up to the small card reader, and tapped in his pin number. "Sorry."

James finished paying, and the two carried their groceries out together before making the drive back to the Xiao Long-Rose house.

Qrow drove, and once in awhile he would try to start conversations, but that wasn't what James wanted. He wanted to try and forget about the week before, but some things didn't come so easily. He needed his quiet.

After the third mile, Qrow got the message and focused on the drive instead of what was going on with James. When they finally pulled into the driveway at the house, James was out of the car first. Qrow followed after, picking up the rest of the groceries and opening the front door so that they could get in.

What they were greeted by was the smell of hot coffee, and the sight of three little girls, all sitting on the couch where James had slept the night before. Penny's attention snapped straight to James.

She got up, and walked over his way. "Father-"

Her eyes were red, like she'd been crying.

"Good morning, Penny." James said, walking into the kitchen, where Taiyang was standing, glaring at the coffee pot as though he could make it heat faster. Qrow trailed behind James and they began setting the bags down on the table in the kitchen.

"Where were you?" Penny asked, stepping up onto the tips of her toes so that she could peer into the plastic bags to see what James and Qrow had gotten. "I was scared."

Damn, if that didn't hurt.

James blinked. "We just went to get stuff so we could make you, Ruby, and Yang breakfast." He looked between Taiyang and Qrow. feeling a bit nervous before kneeling down to get closer to Penny's level. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "I didn't mean to scare you."

When he stood back up, Penny stared at him. "What's for breakfast?"

"Pancakes." Qrow piped up from behind James. "And bacon. Why don't you go join Ruby and Yang so we can cook without having to worry about you?"

Penny looked up at James, nervous.

"It'll be ok." James reassured her. "I'm right here. Go have fun."

Penny stepped forward, wrapping her arms around James, and he hugged her close for as long as she felt like she needed to cling to him. She pulled away after a minute, turned, and went down the hallway to enjoy herself with Ruby and Yang, looking back at James over her shoulder on the way out.

"She was distraught." Taiyang spoke up, leaning back against a countertop, still staring at the coffee maker. His voice was quiet, a clear sign that he didn't want for the kids to figure out that they were talking about them. "Is… everything ok at home, James?"

"Yeah." James said, opening up one of the bags and pulling out the two packages of bacon that he and Qrow had picked out. "Things have just been hard lately. I was in the hospital, she had to move in with her mother, and she's always been a nervous kid, s-."

Taiyang nodded. "You know if you ever need-"

"I know." James mumbled, finding the carton of eggs now. "Look, Penny lives with her mother here in Vale most of the time. If you could just… make sure she gets to see your kids, that'd be more than enough."

Taiyang nods, reaching out to take one of the bags of food and began unpacking it. "Summer's still asleep, and I should probably go watch the kids." The man admitted, his voice somewhat meek. "Would you mind if I went and-"

"Go ahead." Qrow laughed. "We'll yell when the coffee's done, Tai Tai."

"Don't call me that." Taiyang turned, heading into the living room. From where he stood, James could hear the sound of Taiyang exclaiming something about what was on the tv.

James looked at Qrow. "Care to lead?"

"So, do you usually make the breakfast around here?"

"I do." Qrow said. "Why, you don't make breakfast." Qrow stopped, realizing what he was saying. "Oh, right, you don't like breakfast."

"It's not-" James sighed. "I don't actually mind breakfast. Just most mornings I don't feel up to eating it."

"Yeah, you tell yourself that." Qrow said, holding a bare hand out above a heating skillet. "Why don't you help me make breakfast, then you can take of with your kid?"

James nodded, looked down at the ingredients and began following the box instructions on the pancakes. He did his best to invest himself deeply in the cooking instead of paying too much attention to Qrow. He had to plan his drive home, which wasn't going to be a pleasant one if he did it alone. James' mind flew back to the conversation earlier.

He could ask for Qrow to come with him, he supposed. It was possible for him to just come back to the house and get Qrow once Penny was dropped off, then he could have Qrow drive back to Atlas. And besides, Qrow did have to be in Atlas on Monday night for the meeting with Roman anyways. James swallowed his pride, looked back over his shoulder at Qrow, and raised his voice, just enough so that Qrow could hear it.

"Qrow, I want you to come back to Atlas with me tonight. If you don't mind it."

Qrow looked over at James, and let a small smirk crack his face. "I'd like that." Qrow said, with his eyes softer than ever. "Just come and get me when you've dropped Penny off."

James nodded, and looked back down at the work in front of him. Smiled gently. "I'll do that."

"Great." Qrow said. "Mind passing me the eggs?"

And with that, James managed to focus on making breakfast for most of the morning, and was actually able to enjoy himself while he did it.

Small miracles, he supposed.


	18. Flow

"Oh, I just love having all of you in my apartment again." Roman laughed, leaning back atop the couch where he was perched. "Just smell that evening air."

"Roman-"

"I know Baby Bear, I know." Roman crossed one leg over the other and scanned the room. "FIrst matter of business. Code names, and I really love this new batch I've whipped up for us."

A collective groan filled the room.

"Roman." Glynda's voice was loud and clear. Commanding. "That isn't even the first order of business."

Glynda stood up and wound her way around the room, deciding to stand in front of the coffee table that was the centrepiece of Junior and Roman's living room. She opened the familiar black folder that held her tablet, and from a small compartment, she removed a stack of long, perfectly white envelopes that each had single names printed in neat handwriting across the front.

She set them down on the table.

"Ozpin has sent payment for the last job." Glynda announced. "With a small bonus for the fact that nobody was killed. I haven't looked at the final amount."

Glynda stepped away from the table. The room almost seemed to freeze, each and every person not wanting to be the one that looked the most eager in getting their pay. James simply sat back on the couch, and stared at the stack of envelopes.

He always took his last.

It was just how things went.

One by one, the envelopes began being distributed, and though most didn't immediately go to check the sum, at James' side, there was the sound of tearing paper. He let his eyes flick over, to see Qrow, with a check pulled halfway out of his envelope.

Qrow's eyes widened, and he slid the check back into the enveloped and leaned back into the couch beside James. "It's-" He whispered.

"A lot?" James whispered back. "I know."

Qrow nodded.

Glynda re-seated herself, crossed one leg over the other, and then looked up at Roman. "Now you may continue, Roman."

"Thank you, Glynda." Roman's fingers drummed on a small pad of paper, that was sure to be posted for everyone to see once all of the information on it had been given out. "So, about those code names?"

A second time, there was a collective groan.

"Good. I know you all just love them." Roman held up the notebook, and his grin widened. "I decided to go a little different since this job isn't our usual fare. This was a very special assignment from Ozpin, you see?"

"So what are the names?" Qrow piped up, drawing Roman's attention.

Roman pointed a finger at Qrow, and smiled. "Scarecrow." The finger traveled to James. "Peacemaker." Then to Glynda. "North." Roman looked around the room, finding the spot where Winter was sitting in Junior's recliner. "Winter, I hate to say it, but you're out on this one. My lovely fiance will be Baby Bear and I-" Roman announced triumphantly. "Will be Pumpkin."

"Seriously?" Qrow laughed. "Pumpkin?"

"It'll make sense." Roman sighed. "Promise."

"How does that-" Winter started, cocking her head to the side. James let his eyes slide over to her for just the moment. She looked disappointed, but also confused.

"Let me explain the job, and I promise that it'll make sense." Roman siid down off of his perch, stepped up next to the easel that would surely hold all of the job details, then hesitated. Smiled. "Glynda, care to give the rest of us some context on this one?"

Glynda sighed. The woman sounded like she was already completely done with this meeting. "Always, Roman." She hit a button on her tablet, and it glowed to life. She tapped against it once or twice, finding what she needed, then looked up and let her vibrant green eyes scan the room. "Ozpin has managed to come by knowledge regarding the Salem Group, who will be having a large benefit in two weeks."

"The Salem Group?" Winter asked this time, to everyone's surprise. "My father-"

"That's the one, Winter. Care to tell everyone else?"

Winter almost shrank back for a moment. She swallowed. Inhaled deeply. "The Salem Group is an investment group- you know, the kind that people go to in hopes that they'll invest in stocks for them?" In her seat, Winter shifted, obviously uncomfortable. "I know that… they aren't popular with a lot of people. A lot of retirement funds down the drain."

Glynda closed her eyes and nodded. "They've come under Ozpin's scrutiny, though Ozpin didn't say why. What they want us to do is to infiltrate this benefit of theirs. The money is supposedly going to help pay for water wells but…"

Winter spoke up again. "But if the Salem Group is as shady as people say, a cent won't make it there."

Another nod. Glynda's eyes opened back up. "Exactly."

Now Roman spoke. "Ozpin's going to cook a book for us to switch with theirs, since this little benefit is at their headquarters, our job will be to get their real books, give them Ozpin's, and get out safe and sound."

"Precisely." Said Glynda. "Roman, care to explain the logistics?"

"Always for you, Glynda." Roman grinned. "So this benefit, it's invite only, which means we'll have to find each of you a way inside. Some of you, Ozpin's already arranged placement for. Some of you, we'll be fabricating invitations for."

"Roman-" James spoke up for the first time that meeting. "What are the assignments going to look like?"

Roman flipped open the easel, showing a long list of names and jobs. "Good question. Since we'll have to be poking around some shady places, we'll need to get someone in with some sort of security clearance." He reached out, tapping on the name 'Baby Bear.' "Junior was an easy sell for a security guard. He'll have the highest clearance of the group."

Just below Junior's name on the list was 'Scarecrow. "Qrow, you'll be working bar. You know anything about mixing drinks, or do you only know how to drink the stuff?"

"Uh…" Qrow hesitated. "I don't know much about mixing, nah."

"I can teach him." Junior spoke up. "Put him on a few shifts at the bar."

"Perfect."

"Do I get paid?" Qrow chuckles, trying to lighten the mood.

"Maybe if you do well." Junior answered.

Roman nods, feeling satisfied with the situation. "Good. Next, James and Glynda. You two, it's time to break out the Robinsons again."

The room went deathly silent. James and Glynda exchanged a look, both knowing exactly what it meant for them. James sighed, resigning himself to his fate, and looked up at Roman. "If you want the Robinsons, you better have a good reason for it, Roman."

"Which I do." Roman responded, tapping on the name 'Robinsons.' "James, you're the eyes at the center of this. Get people in and out, be attached to your phone. I know you, you can sell the overworked businessman angle."

"And me?" Glynda asked, sounding bored. Like she already knew her role.

"You'll be running everything in and out of the benefit. When you come in, Glynda, you'll be depositing a handbag at the the coat check- that's where I'll be. Spend the night drinking. Tonic and Lime, it'll look like you've had more than you have. Play the part, claim you lost your bag at the bar. When that happens, that's Qrow's sign to punch out and get a car from the valet."

"Ok?"

"The valet ticket will be taped under the bar counter. Make sure you get it." The marker ended up pointed over in Qrow's direction. Roman flicked it into his sleeve and taped up the first sheet of information that he'd brought with him to the meeting. "Junior, there'll be a copy of the purse Glynda brought in the CEO's office. You'll probably need to crack a safe-"

"I'll teach him." James announced.

"Good. Put the new books into that bag. That's when you'll call me, and I'll run up with the bag Glynda brought from the coat check. The story is that I'm retrieving something, got it? We make the switch, I go back down to the coat check where James will pick up his drunk wife's bag."

"And after that?" Qrow asked.

"Qrow will bring the car through a second time. Say you missed your turn or something. We all pile in one by one, then make our break. Nobody will even notice the books have been switched until it's too late."

James looked down at his lap, where his notepad that he usually took notes was bare, and simply scribbled down a string of information in a quick relay of everything that had already been talked about at that meeting so far.

There were a lot of holes. Ones which needed to be patched as soon as possible. He tapped on the notepad with his pen then looked up. Raised his voice to draw attention to him. "This plan seems.. good, but there are some minor issues. For instance, cameras?" James raised an eyebrow, zeroing in on Roman and Glynda pointedly. "There's no way that the room where they keep the books is going to be without video surveillance. That's security 101."

Roman blinked, then looked at Glynda in an attempt to see whether there was an answer or not to James' question. He seemed worried, which meant that James had done well as far as selecting a criticism went. Glynda stood up, and everyone stared at her.

"Ozpin will be there." She announced, tone policed.

That announcement alone made the room go completely silent. To their knowledge, Ozpin had never made an appearance on one of their jobs in the past, much less had direct involvement in making things happen.

The room almost seemed to lurch in its uneasiness. James found himself gripping his pen a little tighter than he should have.

Glynda continued. "We won't know who or where they are, but they will be there. They've given us confirmation that they will be somehow controlling the video feeds."

"That's-"

"James." Glynda sighed his name out, as she must have done a thousand times before. "You know how it is. We put our trust in Ozpin, and they'll be sure to make sure we get out of danger should it arise."

Those words made James' blood boil. He looked to his sides, realizing that Qrow and Winter were staring at him.

Looked ahead.

Roman and Junior- staring.

No.

James felt his pen bend in his fingers. Tried to control his breathing, tried to stop himself from snapping.

From yelling about how Ozpin hadn't been there when James' car went up in flames.

From yelling about how Ozpin hadn't been there when they'd taken James' arm and leg off.

Yelling about how Ozpin was always absent.

No.

He couldn't do that.

This wasn't a place to make mistakes.

James released the pen, letting it land on his notebook and sighed. "We should at least have a contingency in place. You may all put blind faith in Ozpin, but I do not." It almost felt like it was an ultimatum, but it was as far as James was willing to go at the moment.

Glynda stepped forward, the first sign of aggression that meeting, but Roman stood up instead, putting a hand on her shoulder to bring her back. "Look, we'll work it out, ok?" Roman looked between James and Glynda, trying hard to get the room back under control. "So there's a hole in the plan. We have two weeks to fix it."

"It needs to be fixed, Roman." James half growled. "Sooner than later, preferably. If this goes wrong, you know where we're all going?"

"Straight to prison." Roman muttered. "I know. Look, all of our plans have holes in them, what makes this one any different?"

James looked around the room. At the easel at the front. Down at his own hands, balled into fists and resting on his knee. "I don't want my daughter to lose me, Roman." James' tone was deadly serious. "And as of right now, this looks like a low success rate. Do we even have blueprints of the building, or are we blindly putting our faith in Ozpin for those too?"

"James-"

"Roman." James flipped his notebook shut, and tried very hard not to squeeze down on it and risk hurting the binding. "I want to help you but as of now-"

"We're going to meet next week, James." Glynda said now, stepping forward. "And in that meeting, we can go ahead and solidify more plans. We understand your concerns but-"

"You're asking too much of me Glynda." James said. "I need to know that we have ways to deal with these things ourselves without having to rely on someone that has never been there."

Junior stood up now, and for the first time, he was intimidating despite his usually meek demeanor. "Everyone, sit down."

"Junior-"

"Sit."

The room went silent. Everyone looked around the room, and soon Roman and Glynda took their seats. James didn't budge from his, simply held on to that notebook like it was the only thing that was attaching him to the earth at that moment.

Once he saw that everyone was seated, Junior spoke again. "Look, we'll have some time before the plan happens to fix things. I'll be on the security detail, and I'll be sure to get a good layout of the building that we can work off of."

He looked to Roman and Glynda. "And we'll be in touch with Ozpin, but James is right- we can't blindly rely on someone that we've never seen. They can say that they'll be there but-"

"But none of us know who they are." Winter piped up. "Or what they will look like."

"Exactly." Junior sighed. "Look, I think it's best if we all take a breather, everyone try and calm down and then we'll get back to the plans, ok?"

Roman perked up, realizing that Junior had calmed the room. "Yeah." Roman says, standing up. "That sounds good. Should I order food for everyone?"

"Yes, please." Junior sent a soft smile in Roman's direction before looking at everyone else. "All of you, take some time to calm down. Be back in thirty minutes."

James stood up, and shoved his notebook into his pocket a bit harder than he should have. He found himself burying his hands deep into his pockets and bowed his head, walking to the door where he slipped into his shoes.

He really needed to get away from this meeting and breathe. He didn't want to be around when everyone was just going to be staring at him for almost getting into an argument with Glynda. One that he admittedly didn't know the direction of. He looked over his shoulder, to make sure that nobody was trailing him, only to find Junior there.

Junior looked him up and down. "Want someone to walk with?"

"Yeah." James mumbled, pushing the door open in front of him. "That'd be good."

Junior put on a pair of slippers that James suspected were used for when the man wanted to go down the road to retrieve a bottle of milk early in the morning, and stepped out of the apartment with James, letting the door close behind them. James turned, heading towards the elevator and hit the button, waiting for the damned box to arrive.

"Are you going to be ok, Jim?"

"I don't know." James stared at the button, waiting. "I don't know that I want to do this."

"I get that." The door opened, and James and Junior stepped in together. James almost went to lean against the wall, as he would have any other time but stopped himself and reached out to press the first floor button instead, deciding that it was best not to think about what had happened the last time that he'd been in this elevator alone with someone.

Junior leaned against the wall. "What she said really made you angry, didn't it?"

"Yeah." James said. "But she wouldn't understand. None of you would."

"How often do you think about it?"

"Everywhere I look there's something that could kill me." James stared forward at the elevator doors. "And they want me to put faith in someone who has never... Ozpin... whoever they are, the most they've done for us is give us work once in awhile and shower us with money and gifts if things go well."

"But if things go wrong-"

"Gifts that mean nothing." James stepped out of the elevator door when it opened. "A copy of my gun. A new car. Those are just... things, Junior. They won't make me whole again. They won't erase what happened."

"You know nothing will get rid of that, right?" Junior said, walking alongside James and opening the front door to the building so that the two of them could step outside and get some fresh air. "I get that... what happened was bad, James, but we do need you. Really."

James closed his eyes, letting a soft breeze ruffle his hair and breathed. Hesitated before he thought of something to say to Junior. "I don't know that you do need me." He mumbled, leaning against the wall. "I was replaced, after all."

"And you're spending time with your replacement outside of this." Junior commented. "Don't act like you both can't be here. Or like you aren't spending time with him."

James shook his head, ready to deny that statement until the end of time. Qrow was nothing to him, he told himself, as though someday he could believe it. There were still things about the situation that left him uneasy.

That kiss in the elevator had sent a shot of electricity up his spine that wasn't entirely unpleasant.

He didn't even mind having Qrow around his house.

James even enjoyed his time where he was with Penny at Qrow's. Without the tension of work there, he and Qrow had been able to really get along and start bonding. And now that work was an issue again, things were vastly different.

Finally, he thought of something to say. "It's easier for him to stay in my empty house than be driven between Atlas and Vale all the time." It was a weak defense, but it was something. He blinked, walked over to a small concrete staircase and seated himself at the top of it, as easily as he could. "Do you think this plan will work?"

"I trust Roman." Junior seated himself on the stairs beside James. "And Glynda. They've never really led us astray, and since it looks like I'll be the linchpin of the whole thing-"

"I trust you to figure out what we need to do." James said, locking his eyes with Junior. "If you're going to be on the security team, you're going to be the one who has the best eyes on everything."

Junior nodded.

There was a silence that hung between them, and finally James said something. "Did Roman tell you anything about this job beforehand?"

"Yeah." Junior admitted. "He doesn't like hiding things from me."

"Makes sense." James stared forward at the street, watching the cars pass by in front of him and Junior. He looked away from the road, and back to Junior. "I trust you, Junior. Please, make sure this will work."

"You have my word, Jim."

James nodded, and stared forward at the street, where cars were passing by as though they didn't know that the entire world was askew.

Of course they didn't.

Nobody knew but the people that had been in Roman and Junior's apartment.

James let out a heavy sigh, his body folding forward slightly so that he could bury his face in his hands. He just sat there for a while, trying to ignore the fact that Junior was there, quietly sitting beside James.

After several minutes of just sitting there, James stood up.

"Feeling better?" Junior asked, looking James over quickly.

"Yeah." James said. "I think so."

Junior nodded and stood up as well. He took a moment to brush the dirt off of his pants before the two of them began the walk back to the door that they'd come out of the building from. For the entire walk, James didn't look back at Junior, only shoved his hands deep into his pockets as he walked.

They made their way inside the building, took the elevator up the stairs, and when they came back into the apartment, the door opened to reveal that the group inside were making a pizza order. Roman was on the phone, and he flashed a smile to Junior as soon as James and Junior were through the door.

James stopped at the door to remove his shoes and went back over to his seat on the couch where he'd been sitting before everything had gotten so heated. He settled into the cushions and closed his eyes, listened in on the other conversations in the room.

Winter and Qrow seemed to be antagonizing each other- apparently the girl wasn't happy about not being assigned on this job.

James wasn't surprised by that. He half expected that she would come to him later looking for him to lobby for her to be put into the thick of things instead of being left home to rot. James didn't know whether he was going to be willing to appease the girl or not when she did inevitably come to him.

Roman got off the phone, and started talking to Junior about something. It wasn't James' business.

He blocked out the world and let himself focus on his own thoughts for a bit. He needed to organize his ideas about this plan, and how they were supposed to pull it off. This wasn't their typical work, James reminded himself. They were going to all be learning along the way, and the fact that Qrow and Junior were both going to be getting lessons to be able to pull off their respective roles made his question of his place in this even stronger.

He understood being asked to be the eyes on the whole thing. That wasn't too unusual for him, especially in these more subdued situations. But usually he'd play security with Junior, not pretend to be a married businessman that was there on an invitation.

When the pizza arrived, James didn't join everyone else for it. Instead, he sat up and opened up his notebook, scribbling down his own thoughts and notes on this job so that he could do his part as best as he possibly could.

Maybe if he played the part he was given, he'd be able to get into the building and get his own idea of what this job was going to end up looking like.

Maybe.

Qrow sat down on the couch, with two plates of food in hand. James didn't notice him at first, as he was trying to figure out what the dress code at this particular event would probably be. If he had to get his suit re-fitted, he wasn't sure whether that was going to be in issue or not.

He scribbled something out, then Qrow raised his voice.

"Jim."

James looked up. Blinked. "Qrow."

Qrow set one of the two plates down in front of James. "Eat something."

"I will later." James mumbled. Hesitated. "Promise."

Qrow nodded, leaning back in his seat a bit and sighing as he picked up a slice of pizza, folding it in half so that he could eat it. "You mind taking me back to Vale tonight?"

"Nah." James said. "I think I can drive."

"Right."

James blinked, and when the meeting restarted, the group began to work through the logistics of everything else. Where cars were going to be parked, how they were getting to this job, and everything else that they could think of.

It wasn't enough to relieve the issue of the cameras, but having it clear that everything else was worked out was important.

It almost made James feel better about this job.

Almost.


	19. Heart To Heart

Qrow arrived back in Vale early in the morning, long before anyone else should have been awake. He had a lot on his mind after that meeting. His train of thought mostly oscillated from James to the fact that he now had the money that he'd needed to make sure that Raven was taken care of.

When he stepped through the door of the house as quietly as he could, Qrow found Taiyang lying on the couch, watching TV with Zwei curled in at his side. Taiyang jumped slightly when the door opened and he looked up at Qrow with tired eyes.

"Hey Tai Tai." Qrow whispered, slipping off his shoes before he seated himself on the couch next to Taiyang. "What're you doing up?"

"Couldn't sleep." Taiyang mumbled, half sitting up. He rubbed at his eyes and looked Qrow up and down. "Why getting home so late?"

"Jimmy didn't want me around tonight." Qrow shrugged, emptying his pockets onto the table as he always did as soon as he got home.

Taiyang raised an eyebrow at that. He reached up, rubbed his exhaustion from his eyes and blinked with an unreadable expression on his face. Qrow wondered what Taiyang was thinking. What Taiyang was reading into that he shouldn't have been. "So how's work going anyways, Qrow?"

Surprisingly, it was a welcome question. Qrow crossed his legs, made himself comfortable on the couch and reached across Taiyang so that the two of them could share the blanket that the blonde had wrapped himself up in. "It's going." Qrow answered finally. "I just got paid so-" A shrug. "It wasn't much."

If he turned his head, he would be able to look into Taiyang's eyes and see that the man looked sad, or disappointed, or maybe some other feeling that was hard to read. Or maybe he would just see how impossibly blue the man's eyes were.

Just like...

Qrow shook the feeling.

"Ah." Taiyang finally said, breaking the awkward silence that hung between them. "Does that mean you're going to start paying rent?"

"You want me to pay rent?"

Taiyang chuckled. "Nah." He finally said. "Me and Summer just want you taken care of until you're back on your feet. Any money you make, you should save."

A soft wave of relief flowed through Qrow at those words. They weren't going to question him staying there unless he ended up randomly coming up with a large sum of cash. Which had just happened.

Shit .

He was going to pay Raven's rent and bills, Qrow reminded himself. That was going to take away some of that sum, but it wasn't going to be much. Not enough to make him staying with Taiyang and Summer for the time being seem justified.

But in the back of his mind, Qrow knew that he was probably going to get a phone call next month from Raven, asking for the same meeting in a restaurant, and he would cave and make sure that she was taken care of. Finally, Qrow managed to speak up.

"You sure you two don't mind having me here?"

"I"m sure." Taiyang said, his voice unwavering. Had it wavered, Qrow would have known that it was a lie. Taiyang had always had an obvious tell. "We care about you, the girls love having their dear Uncle Qrow around, and it isn't like you're just a freeloader, you help out around the house. We don't mind."

Qrow nods. "I think I'm being brought in on another job. Security gig. And I think a friend out in Atlas might be offering me a more... permanent job. Maybe."

"Really?" Taiyang looked at Qrow directly now. "What would you be doing?"

"Bartending." Qrow said, thinking about the offer that Junior had made to train him on bartending at the meeting only a few hours ago. "One of my friends owns a bar so..."

Taiyang blinked. Stared forward at the television, which was showing some documentary on how rice was made, opened his mouth for a moment, then closed it. Like he was looking for a good joke to throw Qrow's way, or maybe he was thinking about the implications of Qrow finding regular work.

Eventually, "So someone trusts you enough to put you behind a bar?" Taiyang's mouth stretched into a grin, and the man shifted to rest his head on his fist. "What a fool."

"Shut up." Qrow reached out and pushed Taiyang away from him, earning a laugh from his friend. "He's a good guy, and if he trusts me enough for that, then I'll give it a shot." He looked down at his hands, remembering that he wasn't actually going to have a regular job at Junior's bar.

But it did make a good cover for him coming up with so much money. He could claim he was a bartender, pretend he got the money to move into his own place, and then still do his work for Ozpin as long as he wanted to. If he wasn't with Taiyang and Summer all the time, then lying to them about what he was doing would be a lot easier.

"Would you move out to Atlas?"

"Probably."

"You'll still come visit us, right?"

"Of course." Qrow pulled the shared blanket closer around him. "I love my girls. And how could I ever live without Zwei or Summer-" He smiled, looking at the mess of things that were laid across the coffee table in front of him and Taiyang. His phone laid dormant.

Taiyang tugged back on the blanket, folding his legs up onto the couch in a position so that he could kick Qrow as he pleased. "You aren't forgetting anyone?"

"Nah." Qrow laughed. "I don't think I am."

Taiyang shook his head. "You're an ass."

"You love it."

Taiyang looked down at his hands, then at Qrow. "Yeah," The blonde finally admitted, grinning and shaking his head as he spoke. "I do."

Qrow let his head rest back against the cushions of the couch, and stared up at the ceiling. He was going to have to work overtime now to hide what he was up to from Summer and Taiyang. He was sure that they'd seen the news, he was sure that they'd heard about a string of robberies and attacks on gas stations a week before.

He wondered if either of them had noticed that this had all happened on a day that he just so happened to be away. If there was another big event like that and Qrow was away... he was sure that they would start asking questions.

He couldn't have them asking questions.

Qrow settled into the warmth of the couch, closed his eyes and pulled the plush blanket up to his chin. He felt Taiyang's hand on his knee after a moment, a gentle pat. "I suppose I should leave you to go to bed?"

"Nah." Qrow mumbled. "You can stay." The two made eye contact. "I don't mind."

"I'm glad." Taiyang said, looking forward at the tv again now. "Qrow... if something's wrong, you'll tell us, right?"

"Of course, Tai." Qrow responded. "I don't have anything weird going on, if that's what you're thinking. I know I'm away a lot these days but-"

"We just want you safe, Qrow."

"I know."

Taiyang shifted on the couch, pushed himself off of it and stretched. Qrow could hear the sound of the man's back popping with the motion, the obvious sign that he was getting ready to go to bed. "We love you. Even if you are a drunk, and live on our couch. I'll see you in the morning, ok?"

"Alright, Tai Tai." Qrow took the opportunity now to stretch out across the couch and make himself more comfortable. Zwei hopped down and stretched himself, following on Taiyang's heels. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Always."

And with that, Qrow was alone. He reached over to the table, where his phone was sitting and turned it on, going to his messages to see whether anyone from work had sent him anything important, but instead found nothing.

He scrolled down the list of names, letting his thumb hover over the name "Tara." It was a fake name that he liked to keep for messages from Raven, since that way if someone looked over and saw that he was getting texts from someone named Tara nobody would question it. He could explain it away as a cute bar worker.

Qrow frowned. Everything in him screamed at him to make the call and tell Raven that they needed to meet up sometime, but he couldn't bring himself to push his thumb to her false name and actually make that happen. He loved her with everything that he could, but he didn't like how he felt when he was around her.

For just a moment, Qrow wondered if he dragged her down when they were together the same way that she dragged him down. Or whether that was only him.

If Qrow had really known the answer to that, he was sure that it would have dragged him down even further. And of all the things in the world, that had to be the scariest.

Qrow looked at the rest of the couch, realizing suddenly how empty the space was. The last time that he'd been here, James had slept on this couch, albeit uncomfortably. Qrow wondered if he would smell James on the couch if he laid down, that mix of gunpowder, metal, and something like smoked wood.

The thought almost made Qrow feel sick to his stomach as he realized that he and James still hadn't dealt with what had happened back in that elevator. Not really. James was dodging the subject and pushing him away, and he supposed he should have expected that.

But that didn't make it all hurt any less.

Qrow pulled the blanket over himself and finally allowed himself to stretch out the rest of the way on the couch, since the space now existed for him to do so. He figured that he should have gotten up, instead of laying there in his day clothes and going to bed that way.

He'd woken up in his clothes from the day before far too many times to like doing it.

With a groan, Qrow forced himself off of the couch and to the duffel bag that still contained his few belongings. He unzipped it and reached in, grabbing up a simple pair of pajama pants and some clean underwear before making the walk to the bathroom where he would be able to change.

He padded down the hallway, trying to keep his footfalls as quiet as he possibly could so that he could avoid potentially waking Taiyang, Summer, or the kids. Zwei poked his head out from behind the door to Summer and Taiyang's room.

Qrow shot the dog a death glare, the best warning he could give against the dog to tell him not to bark. With that, Qrow opened the bathroom door and stepped in, fumbling along the wall for the light switch before turning the lights on and earning the hum of fluorescent lights.

The first thing that Qrow did once he was situated was strip off his shirt. He looked at his reflection for just a moment, and ran a hand along his jaw as he realized that he really needed to shave. He also probably needed a haircut sooner than later, Qrow decided with a grimace.

He would have to get cleaned up before the next job came around, Qrow realized. Even if he was just going to be pretending to work the bar, he was going to need to look like he belonged at a swanky benefit. Not like someone who lived on his brother-in-law's couch.

Qrow frowned, reached for the clean underwear and slipped out of what he was already in before pulling on the clean pair. The pajama pants that he'd picked out soon followed, and Qrow was left alone with his own thoughts for just a moment.

There were a lot of facts that he was going to have to sort through very soon.

Firstly, it was absolutely imperative that he got to talk to Raven sooner than later and ensure that she was taken care of.

Second, he had to get his story as straight as possible so that he could make the transition out of Taiyang and Summer's without raising too many eyebrows.

Thirdly, he needed to be sure that he was going to be right on the upcoming job. He needed to get whatever training he could to play his part, but he didn't know that it would be enough.

Lastly, he needed to remember that there was still a manhunt in Vale for whoever had attacked those gas stations.

If anything scared him, it was the prospect that he could get caught. He and James had taken their precautions to keep their identities secret, but there was always the possibility that something didn't work out, or that someone had recognized James' voice, or recognized them in some other way.

Qrow shook the thought from his head, turned, and picked up his discarded clothing off of the floor before leaving the bathroom to head back to the living room. On the way there, he stopped at the washing machine, where he opened the lid and dropped his dirtied clothes into it so that he could clean them as soon as he got up in the morning.

Slowly, Qrow lowered the machine's lid to make sure that nobody got woken up, and then walked out to the living room, where the couch was still sitting, as painfully empty and lonely as ever. Qrow stopped, looked it over, and let out a sigh before dragging himself across the living room and dropping down onto the couch.

The couch creaked quietly under his weight, and Qrow let his eyes slip shut for just a moment as he let the plushness of the cushions become everything that he knew.

It had been over a week since the job and Qrow still felt exhausted. The worst part was that he didn't know whether that exhaustion was physical, mental, or something else entirely. That wasn't a particularly nice prospect to have to think about, either.

Qrow wondered how long it had taken James to recover physically from the job for just a moment. He wondered if James had even recovered or not. He let his eyes open, and turned his head so that he could see whatever was still playing on the tv. It was still switched onto the documentary that Taiyang had been watching, Qrow realized.

He pushed himself into a half sitting position and reached for the coffee table, finding the remote and beginning to flick through the channels in an attempt to find anything that could help him get his mind clear.

As it turned out, that was a much harder prospect than he'd thought it would have been. One channel would play war documentaries, the next would be a romance, with the two heroes trapped in a kiss that was entirely too perfect to exist in the real world, and then the next channel after that would have a car commercial with an all-too-screechy salesman.

And worst of all, Qrow eventually flipped to the news, where a woman with purple hair that always seemed to stick up funny in the front was reading off the latest reports from around Vale.

Well.

Boredom was one way to inspire sleep, he figured.

Qrow set the remote down on the floor beside him and turned his body so that he could face the television properly, watching the graphics and weather reports fade from topic to topic. Feeling the boredom finally beginning to overtake him, Qrow let his eyes drift shut and turned on the couch away from the news and avoid being met by the harsh glow of the tv screen.

He pulled the blanket up around him, inhaled its scent and tried not to think about who the scents belonged to before beginning to drift off half to sleep.

"-the attacks on Grimm United in Vale seem to be politically motivated-"

The words tugged Qrow back awake, and he half jolted back up to attention to listen to what had to be said. Against his better instincts, Qrow even picked the remote back up and turned up the volume so that he could hear what Lisa Lavender had to report on from Atlas.

'-Last week's attacks have no known casualties, though five Grimm United stations have been put out of commission for the time being. Grimm United issued the following statement in regards to the attacks-"

The purple haired woman on the television flickered away, only to be replaced by a dark blue background with white text across it and a graphic that featured the Grimm United logo on it.

'These attacks are unprecedented. They have been violent, and have closed down operations within the city of Atlas entirely. Though Grimm United is glad to report that there were no deaths or injuries, we take this matter extremely seriously. The security situations in each store will be reviewed carefully, and Atlas should be receiving the same levels of service in a few months.'

Qrow stared at the television, drinking in every word and wondering whether he should make a call to the others in the group and let them know what had happened. They would want to know what was going on, that there was a statement. He knew for a fact that they were probably all doing their best to stay distant from each other out in Atlas, though.

Well, the ones that could stay distant were doing their best, at the very least.

He sat back upright, watching as the woman, Lisa Lavender, it said her name was, once again commanded the air, only to ask that anyone with information regarding the attacks report to the proper authorities.

He could feel his chest clench, his heart beating fast inside of it. Qrow curled in on himself, burying his face in his hands, and tried desperately to control his breathing. He was safe as long as he was in Vale, he told himself. He and James had taken all of the necessary precautions to keep their identities safe, he told himself.

He couldn't convince himself that he was safe.

Qrow got up, and stormed into the kitchen. He stood up on the tips of his toes, reaching for a cupboard above the stove which was well out of the reach of the girls. He opened it up, feeling around inside for a bottle that he usually kept tucked out of view. His fingers brushed against the cool glass of the bottle, and he pulled it down.

He stared at it for a moment, watching the amber liquid inside swirl and ripple with every moment that he made. Qrow looked at the cabinet with the glasses, and decided against getting one for this. He didn't want a glass right now, what he wanted was a drink. He wanted to drown his nerves as quickly and as brutally as was physically possible.

Qrow unscrewed the cap of the bottle, raised it to his lips, and drank deeply from it, hoping that he'd be able to get some sort of relief from the fear that now refused to release him.

Slowly, the world around him began to fade away. When it didn't fade fast enough, Qrow would just raise that bottle to his lips again and drink more, hoping to speed the process. If he had to make the contents of his stomach vaguely resemble jet fuel, he was more than happy to do so. It was what he needed, he couldn't be here feeling like he was going to panic at any moment.

No.

He had to call James.

No.

He had to call Roman.

No.

He had to run away.

No.

He had to drink.

Qrow curled in on himself further, still with the bottle clasped tightly in his hand as he pressed his wrists to the sides of his head, trying to block out the entirety of the universe around him in one motion.

It was odd, Qrow realized. When they'd done the job, he hadn't felt scared like this- that was all James. Everything that he'd felt that day, he'd just attributed to James rubbing off on him too much, but now, he felt like he had to run or he was going to get dragged off to prison. If that happened, the gambit was up. Summer and Taiyang would find out what he was up to behind their backs, the girls would never love him again, and he wouldn't be able to do a damn thing for Raven in the meantime.

Shit.

Qrow realized as he stared into his bottle again that this was what rock bottom felt like. He frowned, tilted the bottle, and drank from it again, this time not taking it away from his lips until it was completely drained, and he could feel his mind clouding enough that the feeling that was clutching his chest began to subside and be replaced with the feeling of nothing.

At least there wasn't anything further down than rock bottom.

He pushed himself up to his feet, swaying slightly with the motion, and then he left the house, the bottle still sitting half-empty on the coffee table as he decided that he needed to go for a walk. All he grabbed on the way out was a light jacket that he zipped over his bare chest and a pair of sandals.

Qrow didn't know where he was going to go, just that he needed to get out of the house, if only for a little while.

The walk didn't help.


	20. Silence Screams

The house nearly empty aside from its lone occupant.

Everything was silent, and it was enough to make James' head ring as he sat at his desk in his office, staring at the clock as though it was going to be enough to banish the thoughts that had been keeping him up that night. As though time was going to be able to heal him today. James turned in his seat, facing away from the clock now so that he could peer out the window. It didn't offer much, just a view of the street below him, where he knew nobody was going to be out and about.

He was tired.

James didn't like nights like these. He didn't like the nights where everything was too quiet, or he felt lonely, or his missing bones would light up in pain as a constant reminder that this was not his body. The man stared out at the streets nonetheless, taking the small distraction that they offered in hopes that watching whatever was out there was going to be enough to make him feel okay.

It never really did.

There was just a moment where James considered getting up and going out there into the night. He could have left and tried to find somewhere that he belonged for once, but now he sat at home, alone, wishing that he was anywhere but there.

There were a lot of things that James distinctly disliked.

Driving.

Gelatin.

Fire.

Silence.

Pain.

But most of all, he hated being left alone with his thoughts, now much more than ever before. James didn't want to admit to it, but there was a lot that was bothering him these days. It wasn't just his job, or the fact that his search for a legitimate job wasn't panning out, it was that there had been so much happening over the course of the last few weeks and simply couldn't keep up.

And he didn't have the slightest idea as to how he was supposed to be dealing with any of it, and if there was anything that was the absolute worst part of this situation, it was that.

He didn't have anyone that he could go to, not really. Not anyone that would be able to understand what was going on with him, or what he was feeling or thinking. James had a strong sense that he was never going to find someone that could understand what he was going through.

The fact of the matter was that there weren't many people out there who were criminals hiding in plain sight, missing multiple limbs, and struggling with trying to feel like they were normal again.

Sure, he could have gone to Roman or Junior- they were good people, and they tried hard to be there for him, but it was never really enough. In the end, he always felt like he was too distant from them. The world had decided to rush on while he was away, and now he was feeling lost, left behind, and scared.

Admitting that to himself was hard. Very hard.

But that's what it was, James realized.

He was afraid.

James turned in his seat again, so that he faced away from the window so that he didn't have to think about the world outside. He pushed himself up to his feet, and felt the way that his leg went stiff like it didn't want to move before it finally began to loosen up. He took a step away from the desk, realizing that the last time he'd been in his home office, he hadn't been alone.

No.

Qrow had been there.

Qrow had left.

Qrow had kissed him.

James left the office at that thought, hoping that doing so would be enough to keep him from thinking about the other man, even if it was only for a little while. He was away from Qrow, if only for a little while. He even had the luck to not be partnered with Qrow on this next job, and that in itself was a small relief. It wasn't the best one, but he and Glynda at least knew what they were both doing, and there wouldn't be too much awkwardness between them.

He could play a married man for a night, he had enough legitimate experience in that field to be able to pull it off, at the very least.

Glynda wasn't going to make things weird between them. She wasn't going to go ahead and ruin their partnership for the sake of...

James paused mid-thought, not sure what followed. Glynda wasn't going to risk ruining their partnership, that was more than true. But Qrow had gone ahead and done that, he'd sabotaged the whole thing with one motion.

And the worst part was that James couldn't figure out why for the life of him. And he didn't exactly want to ask Qrow why he'd done that, if only for fear of sending Qrow mixed messages about the whole thing. Qrow seemed like the type to misread messages, James realized. No, it wasn't a 'seemed', he thought.

Qrow misread messages.

A lot.

That was what had gotten them into this mess.

And what a mess it was, James thought. He certainly didn't know what he felt about the whole thing quite yet. James knew that he was going to have to face this sooner than later, but he didn't want to have to deal with it. Trying to live his life without paying attention to what had happened with Qrow felt much more comfortable than trying to handle the situation.

James knew that was wrong, but it was what he felt like he needed to do.

He walked up to his bedroom, lost in his own head. Every closed door that he passed by was just another reminder of how empty his home was. Once, Penny would have been sleeping on the other side of her bedroom door instead of sleeping nearly an hour away from him. Once, Winter would have been sleeping in the small guest room that he'd set aside from her, just happy that she had somewhere safe to stay for the night.

But now, he was plagued by the knowledge that both of those rooms were empty, and he was so, so alone.

James stopped at the door to his bedroom, and squeezed his eyes shut.

Once upon a time, this room wouldn't have been empty either.

James pushed the door open gently, and stepped into his bedroom. It looked untouched, like nobody lived there, and for a moment, James found himself questioning why that was. This was his home, he had nobody to impress. He wasn't going to be disciplined if his quarters were a little out of line, and he didn't even have to keep a tidy bed these days to act as an example to Penny.

It was cold.

Clinical.

For a moment, James thought of a hospital room and had to try desperately to suppress the shudder that wracked his body at the thought. Slowly, he walked to the side of his bed and seated himself on it, feeling the way that it sank under his weight, if only slightly. He frowned, laid back and let his body relax into the bed. It almost felt like it had been a lifetime since he'd last slept in his own bed.

He almost missed it.

The fact that it was an almost didn't make him feel good about the whole thing.

Mentally, James began to compose a checklist of things that he was going to have to do before the next meeting, which was probably going to be on Friday, if he was correct. Roman had always liked having their meetings on Fridays.

There was still an envelope in his car's glovebox that contained his last paycheck, but he probably wasn't going to be able to deposit that safely for a little bit. He had to wait for the panic throughout the city to die down some before an uncharacteristically large sum of money filled his bank account after a long time without much activity in his account.

He was going to have to check that his suit still fit, if only for the sake of playing the part of the married businessman when they did the next job. If it didn't fit him properly anymore, he was probably going to have to take a trip out to the local tailors and hope that it could be taken out. He felt his stomach twist at the thought of going to the tailors. A fitting would require someone else's hands in close contact with his body.

His ugly, twisted body that never seemed to fit quite right and never had really belonged to him.

Once again, James' stomach twisted, making him feel like he was going to be sick. He leaned forward and folded his body in on itself. James let himself rest his head on his left hand, while his right arm just hanged limp beside him.

James let his eyes slip shut, knowing full well that he should go to sleep sometime instead of just sitting up all night and moping, but it wasn't that simple. He pursed his lips, then stood up, deciding that the least that he could do was get into something that was more comfortable than his regular clothes for the rest of the night, short as it may be.

He forced himself onto his feet, and walked over to his old wardrobe that he'd had for as long as he'd owned the house. James opened up one of the drawers, removed a pair of long pants, along with a heavy pair of socks that he could use so that he didn't have to hear his foot at its loudest as he walked against the hard floor of his apartment.

Next, he found a light long-sleeved shirt. James set each piece down and looked up at the ceiling, making a point to avoid looking down at himself the entire time as he changed out of his clothes. He only looked down once he was sure everything was covered.

Piece by piece, James began putting away his dirty clothes, still wearing the white glove that prevented him from having to see what his hand looked like. It was sad, he realized. People should be able to see themselves in the mirror without getting angry for it.

People should be able to dress themselves without actively having to dodge the issue.

James sighed, checking that every piece of his room in order. Once he was satisfied, he finally climbed into his bed and stared up at the ceiling above him, with the hope that it would somehow tell him everything that he needed to get through the day.

He'd call Penny in the morning, James decided. She was always able to make him feel better.

For just a moment, James let his eyes slip shut, and he did everything in his power to clear his head and keep all of the evil thoughts away from him, but it didn't work. It wasn't so simple as using willpower to avoid the problem, it was much, much harder than that.

If he were a lesser man, James was sure that he would have done what Qrow would do and turn to the bottle. But he couldn't do that, it wasn't him.

Qrow.

Qrow had kissed him.

Qrow Branwen had cornered him in an elevator and kissed him, with no logical reason or explanation.

Qrow Branwen had cornered him in an elevator, kissed him, and James had done absolutely nothing to counter that action. He hadn't tried to push Qrow away, he hadn't been able to think of anything that he could say or do that could make that situation right in that moment. In the back of his mind, James knew that he probably would have only made things worse than they already were should he have done something.

But damn, if the kiss hadn't felt good. If there hadn't been something gentle there.

No .

This wasn't fair to Qrow, James thought.

It wasn't fair for him to push his problems and insecurities onto Qrow when he was sure that the other man didn't exactly care about the fact that James was in a place where he was sure that nobody was ever going to want him around again.

That singular moment of contact left James feel like he was drowning.

That was the worst thing. Brushes of hands, sitting side by side and accidentally touching legs, occasionally bumping into each other- those were all different. They were incidental things, nothing like kisses. Nothing like what Qrow had gone for.

Somehow, James still thought that he could feel the warmth of Qrow's lips against his, and it was a weight that didn't want to carry. Qrow was his partner in the line of duty, nothing more, and nothing less. That was all that Qrow could ever be.

James shifted in his bed, turning onto his side and staring at the wall beside him instead of the ceiling now. It was becoming quickly apparent that he wasn't going to be able to sleep that night unless he dragged himself downstairs and took some medication to knock himself out. That was very low on the list of things that he wanted to have to deal with, because he really didn't like how the sleep pills made him feel.

But he was tired .

He was so, so tired.

James frowned and sat up, realizing that sleep was in fact futile. He rubbed at his eyes and looked over at the alarm clock that sat next to his bed, displaying its blue numbers that would be enough to tell him what time it was. He sighed, pushed himself up out of bed and went downstairs, trying his best to ignore the way that his steps sounded so painfully uneven on the way down.

He didn't want to think about the unevenness of his body. Not right now. Not when thinking about it and everything that he had been through was enough to make his stomach churn and feel like he was going to be sick at any moment.

God, what had he done wrong that would make him deserve all of this?

James dragged himself into the kitchen, straight to the cabinet where he kept his medication and pulled the door open. He stared into its depths and wondered for just a moment if any of those pills would really be enough to take him away for the rest of the night.

With a sigh, James reached forward and took out the bottle of blue tablets. He opened it as carefully as he could and poured the pills into his hand before transferring back all but one of the tabs into the bottle.

He hated being dependent on medication to sleep like this.

It made him feel weak.

James really hated feeling like he was that weak.

There were still moments where people would try to make him feel that way. They didn't mean any harm by it, James knew that perfectly well, but it still bothered him. He'd had to spend over a year in the hospital, being waited on hand and foot and now that he was out of the hospital, he never wanted to feel that way again.

But in the end, he always did. He relied on pills to get him through the day and there were some times where he didn't feel like he was able to climb a staircase or walk.

He was a mess.

He was such a mess.

James put the pill into his mouth, immediately letting it fall to the back before he swallowed it dry. The pill went down rough, like it was caught in his throat and he couldn't force it back any further without making himself sick or without his throat closing up on him involuntarily.

He opened a nearby cupboard, and grabbed an empty glass which he quickly filled with water so that he'd be able to at the very least wash back the pill and see whether it would be enough to make him drowsy and go to sleep.

The man leaned back against the kitchen counter, and just peered out the window onto the street in front of his house. The road was empty, as it usually was during these hours of the day. Come daylight hours, he was sure that there would be children out playing in the streets, on bicycles and laughing happily.

Hopefully, someday soon he would be able to see Penny out on the streets too, laughing and playing.

James reached up and rubbed at his eyes with the back of his left hand and hoped that he would start to feel drowsy instead of being knocked out by the pills immediately. He was still going to have to make it back up to his bed and make himself comfortable enough that he could actually sleep without feeling like he was getting nothing out of it.

Slowly, James stood upright and began the walk to the stairs and then up them until he was finally in his bed again, settling in against the mix of too-plush blankets that he'd never bothered to get rid of and the heavy fluffless blankets that James had grown accustomed to over the course of his time in the military.

He let his eyes flick shut, hoping that he would be able to finally rest and banish every evil thought that had raced through his mind that day away from him. He needed to be able to rest, and though that wasn't coming so easily, at least he had help to get him to fall asleep now. Even if that help was chemical and ultimately foreign to his body.

In a way that almost felt like a blessing, James managed to slip into the land of sleep, his limbs failing to bother him for the first time in a while.

His dreams weren't undisturbed, however. He managed to flit from nightmare to nightmare, dipping in an out of consciousness all the while as his mind was gripped by terror over and over again. Each time he woke, he would shoot up in his bed before letting himself fall back asleep only to be grabbed up by something evil again.

Fire.

Gunshots.

Dust in his eyes.

A panicked voice only filtered by the radio.

Eventually he pushed himself up out of bed all the way, accepting then and there that there wasn't any chance of him really being able to rest, not as long as he couldn't keep the nightmares away. James forced himself up, even though his body was fighting him not to, and he dragged himself back downstairs, not really willing to know just how much time he'd even managed to pass.

He walked down the stairs and through the medicated fog in his brain James was able to make out that it was almost eight in the morning. God, had he really managed to sleep that long? James stopped at the bottom of the stairs, leaning against the wall for just a moment as his body fought him in a desperate desire to go back to sleep.

No.

He couldn't do that.

James looked up at the ceiling for just a moment, exhaled, and then pushed back against the wall to at least try to get to the coffee maker. He knew fully well that trying to stay up through the haze of sleep medication was never a good idea, but he needed to if he wanted to feel like he was going to be alright to function that day.

The coffee maker was turned on with a rough press of the button, and James watched as the dark coffee that was inevitably going to be able to carry him through his day dripped into the pot. He rubbed at his eyes, realizing that he needed to do more if he was going to stay up.

Ok.

He could do something.

James dragged himself into the bathroom, where he flicked on the lights and had to blink away the pain as the brightness bore into him and refused to let him go. He went to the sink, careful not to look up and see his reflection in the mirror.

Instead, he only stared into the depths of his sink basin, watching as the cool water swirled down the drain and away from him forever. His hands gripped the edge of the sink gently, and James didn't let go.

He saw the way that his metallic hand shined against the edge of the sink and frowned. He closed his eyes and tried to look away, only for fire to ignite behind his eyelids, the constant reminder of how he ended up this way.

For the fourth time that night, James was sure that he was going to be sick. He opened his eyes back up and reached into the water before leaning forward so that he could splash his face with it in hopes that it would help him stay awake a bit easier. Or at the very least, it could help him feel more fresh and less like he'd been run over by a train that night.

James splashed his face, once, twice, a third time, and when he looked up at his reflection in the mirror, he saw his face. Saw the way that the water dripped down his face and how it didn't look like him. He saw the way that the fringe of his hair had gotten wet and now hung down in his face awkwardly.

He hated that face.

He hated that face so much.

James closed his eyes and leaned forward so that he could press his palms against his eyes, only for there to be that flash of flames in his mind again, this time hotter and more intense. James' eyes shot back open and he forced himself back upright, gripping to the edge of the sink to make sure that he didn't end up falling.

He caught sight of himself in the mirror again, looking weak, thin, and pained.

He hated that face even more.

James turned to leave the bathroom, knowing that it was what he needed to do. He needed to turn away, separate himself from the bathroom, and he needed get his mind anywhere but where it already was.

At the door, he stopped, stared down at the doorknob which was gripped in his metal hand, the ugly,

twisted thing that it was.

A tight wire of tension snapped within him. He released the doorknob, and tried to look up, tried to get his mind as far away from himself as he possibly could get it. It didn't work.

For the third time that night, James caught sight of his face in the mirror.

Without thinking, he moved.

James turned his entire body into the punch, slamming his right fist into his reflection, square in the nose and a little bit to the right as rage finally overtook James for the first time in a very, very long time.

The fact that his hand was half-buried in broken glass didn't register to James at first. All he picked up on was the fact that he had managed to get that reflection out of the way, and so now when he looked at what was left, what he saw looked more like himself.

Broken.

Shattered.

Irreparable.

Nobody would want this mirror after this mishap, just as he was sure that nobody was going want him after the crash. There was nothing to make him want to stay there anymore. Someday, he would have to come into this bathroom and clean up all the pieces.

He would do it before he next had company, James decided. He could pretend that there was mishap in the bathroom and claim that he'd slipped on the way out of the shower if he had to. As long as there was no broken glass everywhere, he was fine.

James was used to pretending to put things together at this point, he thought. It was almost becoming second nature at this point, he thought.

James was more than too willing to ignore what that actually meant for him.

The realization set in then, as James stared at his own reflection in the mirror. There were shards of the broken mirror everywhere. He looked down at his right hand for a moment and turned it, seeing that there were some spaces where the glass had decided to stick to the metal of his hand.

James sighed, resigning himself to the fact that he did have cleanup to do, even if he really didn't want to.

Ok.

Fine.

He'd clean up.

But he was going to be damned if he didn't have his morning coffee first.


	21. Neon Lights

The next few days passed in relative silence for Qrow. He'd talked to Roman and Junior long enough to make sure that they both knew that they were being talked about the news, only to be reassured that everything was going to be ok. Apparently, this was just how things tended to happen.

No matter what Qrow said or who he talked to, everyone else insisted that everything was alright.

In the end, Qrow had decided against calling James and telling him what was going on. James probably wouldn't have wanted to talk to him about work at this point anyways.

Qrow couldn't exactly blame the guy.

On Thursday night, Junior had asked him to come to a club on the shadier side of the city, and so now, Qrow was riding with Taiyang into Atlas, watching the buildings pass by and listening to Taiyang sing along to the music on the radio like there was nobody there to listen. It left Qrow wishing that he wasn't there to listen himself.

He rubbed at his eyes, and checked his phone to make sure that he was going to be on time for whatever it was that Junior wanted to do with him that night. He'd been given the instructions to wear black when he'd last talked to the man.

Qrow had at least managed to get that right. He partially suspected that would be all he managed to get right that night.

Taiyang pulled up in front of the building that had to be the nightclub, with its moon-like front door and loud music, and the way that color changing lights could be seen from the street, albeit dimly.

The sight of a motorcycle in the parking lot made Qrow flinch.

"Qrow?"

He looked back at Taiyang and unbuckled his seat belt, ready to get out of the car as soon as Taiyang rolled them to a stop. "I'll be fine, Tai." Qrow reassured the other man, flashing him a weak smile and feeling like he'd probably gone pale when he'd seen the motorcycle. "I'll call you after work, ok?"

"Be good, Qrow." Taiyang sighed, watching as Qrow got out. "I'll see you in the morning."

"You aren't my mom." Qrow chuckled, looking at the bar, then back to Taiyang. "Don't worry about me."

Taiyang nodded, pulling away from the curb and leaving Qrow there, alone.

Qrow inhaled deeply and steeled himself for whatever he would face inside. He let out the breath and began heading towards the bar, tugging down on the bottom of his shirt on the way in. He reached the door, pulled it open, and realized that he was, on some level, terrified of what he was going to face.

The nightclub was massive, with people that were similarly uniformed to how he was walking about, many wearing identical pairs of red lensed sunglasses. Qrow shoved his hands deep into his pockets and took the chance to scan the room, looking for the mountain of a man that had invited him here.

His eyes fell on the bar, where he saw Junior, standing behind the bar and cleaning a glass, looking like he was highly concentrated on the task at hand.

Ok, Qrow thought. Time to go.

He approached the bar slowly, and seated himself at one of the stools there as he normally would have if he were looking for a drink. Almost perfectly on cue, Junior looked up, seeing him. "Qrow." He greeted him. "You made it."

"Yeah," Qrow answered, crossing his arms on the bar counter in front of him. "It wasn't a problem."

"And you even wore black." Junior sounded pleased, now hanging up the cleaned glass on a rack behind him. "Come around to the side of the counter and we'll get you back here."

"Is there supposed to be any business tonight?" Qrow asked, looking out at the nightclub which, aside from its employees, looked like it was almost completely empty. "Because if this is supposed to be my training, I don't want to get completely slammed when I'm supposed to be learning."

Junior chucked, it was a warm, low sound that Qrow was sure he'd only heard the man use around Roman. "No, we shouldn't be getting too busy tonight." Junior clarified. "And if it does, I have another bartender on duty to make sure that the bar's manned properly." Junior frowned for a moment, looking around the room, probably searching for that second bartender and not finding them. "She's probably in the bathroom."

"Right." Qrow said, frowning for a moment as he slid down off of his bar stool and walked around the side of the counter until he found the space where there was a break. He slid between the break in the counter, and was immediately given an apron to put on.

"You'll want it."

"Right." Qrow took it, wrapped the apron around himself, and tied it in the back behind him, before checking that it was secure. "So, when do we start?"

"Whenever Raven shows up." Junior answered, bored.

Qrow felt his entire body go rigid at those words. Raven was definitely here then, that was concerning enough on its own. The fact that tonight when he was around her he was going to be absolutely surrounded by alcohol made Qrow feel even worse. This was very, very bad.

Raven almost always made him feel like he needed a drink. Or several. Usually he wanted enough to end up comatose.

Junior turned to the wall behind them, looking for something for a moment, and then Qrow realized that the much larger man was pulling down bottles for them to use while Qrow was trained, and also selecting a couple glasses to use.

Shit, so he actually was going to be learning how to mix drinks then.

Maybe asking Junior about more permanent solutions for work didn't seem like the worst idea, Qrow thought. If he was going to be getting the proper training for working at a bar, then maybe it would give him a leg up.

At the worst, he could add this to his resume.

There was a door on the far side of the bar that opened, and Qrow looked up, watching as a familiar figure left it, crossing the nightclub to man the bar.

Raven Branwen always looked good in black, Qrow thought. He wondered for a long moment if Junior had known that he and Raven were twins when he'd gone ahead and hired the woman. He wondered if Junior even knew that they were siblings.

As she approached the bar, Raven stopped dead in her tracks, and that was when Qrow knew that she'd seen him. "Qrow." She smiled and slipped behind the bar to immediately step up into Qrow's face to wrap her arms around him. "What're you doing here?"

"I'm training him tonight." Junior interrupted as Qrow hugged Raven back. "You need to man the bar."

Qrow stepped away finally. "What the big guy said. Can we talk later?"

"Sure thing." Raven's crimson eyes flicked over to Junior now. "I'll take care of the bar, Teddy. Be good to my baby brother."

"Right." Junior answered, looking down at Qrow, then going to a small door behind the bar, near where he and Qrow were standing. "If you need us, we'll be in the supply room."

"Got it." Raven said, pushing her hair up into her long black ponytail, and for a moment Qrow could have sworn that he'd seen her move to unbutton her shirt a bit, and oh how he was unsure about her doing that.

He followed Junior back into a room where there was little in the way of actual furniture. Most of the room was nothing but a few fridges, a trash can in the corner and a pile of boxes that looked like they'd once carried bottles of liquor.

However, by the door, there was a pair of chairs, and a small table below a bulletin board that looked like it held the schedule for everyone who worked there.

Junior began setting things down on the table, and for the first time, it actually registered to Qrow that Junior wasn't just a criminal or a father to some kids that he'd never seen- Junior was a legitimate business owner, and seemed to take it seriously.

It just left him wondering what stake he had in crime. Why would someone with a life like his want to do what he did?

"Make yourself comfortable." Junior said, keeping his voice low as he reached into his pocket and also put his phone on the table, presumably so that he could pick up in case Roman called needing him to get something for the girls. "This is going to take a few minutes."

Qrow nodded and sank down into his seat. He crossed one leg over the other and just let his eyes wander around the room. He wanted to ask about Raven, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He didn't want to make her a distraction or risk her losing money on her next paycheck.

His eyes strayed back up to the bulletin board, where Raven's schedule was posted clear as day, full name noted.

Junior definitely knew.

Hell, Junior had probably even made sure that Qrow would be the bartender on this next job instead of someone else for that reason. Qrow wondered silently how much pull Junior actually had, wondered how many things had happened explicitly because Junior had requested them that way.

For a moment, Qrow realized that he didn't have any idea of what the actual power dynamics among their little group looked like at all. It was a little bit disconcerting, but Qrow did his best to ignore the thoughts about it. Tried to act like he was probably one of the absolute least powerful among them, aside from Winter, in all likelihood. And even then he still felt like he was less than her.

So Qrow waited, he watched as Junior would walk through that little door that led out to the bar over and over again, each time coming back with more supplies that felt like they would be a bit more than out of the ordinary.

Qrow wondered whether they'd bothered to get a copy of what the menu was going to look like at the job, whether what he was being given was going to be enough to make him good at his job. Or at least, good enough at his job to pass as someone that knew what they were doing.

It all felt like it was stuck up in the air.

Junior seated himself in a chair across from Qrow. He looked awkward in the too-small seat as he leaned forward towards the table, leaving some space between his seat and the table. Even then, he still had to hunch over some to be at the proper level. Junior sighed and pushed a bottle and an empty glass to Qrow. Qrow looked at the bottle, the glass, then at Junior directly. He raised an eyebrow as he tried to piece together what exactly Junior was going to be asking for him to do.

There was no way that he was just learning to pour shots.

This was a test.

It had to be.

Qrow leaned forward, took the glass in his right hand, only to be stopped by Junior holding his hand over the glass. "No fingers." Junior said, handing down the command nonchalantly. "I want to know if you can count." Junior pulled his hand away, once again exposing the glass for pouring. "I want you to pour me an ounce."

With a nod, Qrow picked up a bottle, which looked like an empty bottle of whiskey that Junior had filled with water at some point, presumably so that he didn't end up wasting money trying to teach. Qrow turned the bottle and poured it until he saw what looked like an ounce to him based on how many times he'd seen people pour him drinks in the past.

Junior picked the glass up once it was done, frowned, and drank the water before setting the glass back down. "So, you don't know how to count." Junior sounded like he was impossibly patient. "That's alright. Do it again, but this time, I want for you to count for three seconds before putting the bottle back down. If that doesn't work, I'll give you a jigger to work with. But you need to at the very least be able to fake that you know what you're doing."

Qrow took the glass again and set it down in front of him and stood up, deciding that maybe he'd have better luck with this if he wasn't sitting down. He turned the bottle, slowly counting it out as the water filled the glass. When he stopped, he gently set the glass down in front of Junior for evaluation.

The giant man picked up the glass and held it up to his eye, like he would be able to identify the exact amount of liquid in the glass simply by looking at it. Maybe he could, Qrow thought, if the guy had been in this business long enough, he probably knew better than Qrow.

Qrow mostly went to bars looking for the quickest fix, not bar tending finesse.

Junior set the glass down, deciding that this time around he didn't want to go ahead and drain the glass. "You did it." Junior said, almost sounding like he was proud of Qrow. "So, basically, any time you need to mix, you're going to need to know how to keep track of the amounts that you're pouring. If it takes three seconds to pour an ounce from any bottle like this-"

Junior picked up the bottle and held it up in Qrow's line of sight. Junior gestured towards the top, which had a spout of sorts attached to it, "-which most bars will have, you'll just need to add and subtract time as you go." Junior set the bottle back down. "After that, what you'll need to know is your ingredients list."

"So?"

"You'll have to learn what the drinks on the menu are, and how to make them." Junior explained. "Some things require different presentation, and at something like this job we're going to be at, you're probably going to need to know how to make things look very good."

Junior picked up a metal shaker and slid it over to Qrow for the other man to use. "You're also probably going to need to know how to use one of these. Any idea how it works?"

Qrow looked at the shaker, then back up at Junior and raised an eyebrow. "You just pour the stuff in with some ice and shake it, right?"

"More or less." Junior answered with a chuckle. "Though there's a little more to it than that."

"What do you mean?"

"If you do it wrong you'll end up covered in liquor, for one." Junior explained. "And I don't think I need to tell you why you don't want that."

Qrow blinked and looked down at the metal shaker before reaching out to pick it up. It had to be steel, was his first thought as he turned it over in his hands. He frowned, then looked up at Junior, trying to figure out whether something was missing. "Junior?"

"That's a simple one." Junior explained. "You just attach it to the glass and shake it, just be careful to keep the tension. When you need to strain you just need to break the seal between the glass and the shaker, then you can strain into a glass through the hole in that seal. Some things have metal strainers, but this is all you'll ever need if you're worth any salt."

Qrow nodded. He set the shaker down in front of him, then looked up at Junior. "So what do you want for me to do?"

"I want for you-" Junior paused for a moment, looking at the ingredients that covered the table between them. He picked up two bottles, swirling the first of them in his hand and looking into the depths, like he was checking for something inside. Junior set the bottles down in front of Qrow, then leaned back in his seat, crossing one leg over the other and making himself as comfortable as he could be. "I want for you to make me a cocktail, using what's in those. You're going to want and ounce of each to make it any good."

"Do you want ice in that?"

Junior hummed, letting his eyes slip shut for just a moment as he thought about Qrow's question. "I'm going to say that you should shake it without ice, Qrow. If you shake with the ice, you'll end up diluting your mix."

Qrow nodded and picked up the two bottles, pouring one after the other and being careful not to lose track of how much he was pouring into the metal shaker. He furrowed his brow, and did his best to block out the noise and the distractions that were around him, instead only focusing on the bottle, the shaker, and the glass. He didn't even think about Junior for that moment.

This was between him and the liquor.

With a clean motion, Qrow picked up an empty mixing glass and shoved it into the gap on top of the steel mixer, trying hard to make sure that the seal was solid. He picked it up, unsure about how secure it was. He looked over at Junior, hoping that he'd get some instruction, but didn't get much. He lifted the two glasses, careful to keep one hand on each and began to shake them together vigorously, hearing the way that the liquids inside sloshed around and mixed.

When the seal didn't break during the mixing, it was a relief. He looked at Junior, realizing that there was probably a specific length of time that he was supposed to mix the drinks. He decided to stop after ten seconds or so before breaking the seal and pouring the results into an empty glass that Junior had slid his way.

He looked at the drink, seeing how it was all transparent, and frowned before sliding the glass over to Junior for tasting. The man picked it up, holding the glass aloft in Qrow's direction for just a second before tasting it. Junior set the glass down on the table between them, then looked up at Qrow. His expression was unreadable, Qrow realized.

Finally, Junior spoke.

"You did well." He said, looking away and draining the glass. "The ratios don't seem to be too far off. Are you sure you don't know anything about mixing drinks?"

Qrow shrugged, knowing full well that he didn't have any sort of good answer to Junior's question. He might have learned how to do the absolute basics of eyeballing and the general act of pouring liquor into cups back when Tai, Summer, and Raven had been in university, but never anything beyond that.

"Does college count?"

That comment won a reaction out of Junior that almost sounded like a laugh. "Does college count?" Junior chuckled, as though it was somehow the funniest thing that he'd ever heard over the course of his life. "No, college doesn't count." Junior clarified with a low sigh. "Well, you're doing great."

"Thanks." Qrow said, looking down at the bottles and glasses on the table in front of them. "So, Junior, I wanted to ask you about something."

"Is it about..." Junior hesitated, looking back over his shoulder at the door that led out to the bar. "Her?"

"Yeah." Qrow admitted, picking up to bottles and beginning to mix them in hopes that he'd be able to get a bit more practice in that evening and really be able to look like he knew what he was doing at the job. "Did you know about her?"

"I figured you were related." Junior said. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

"She mentioned working at a bar," Qrow sighed. "We don't get to talk much."

"I'm sorry." Junior looked at the bottles, sliding one over in Qrow's direction before following it up with another instruction for something that he wanted for Qrow to make, this time selecting a set of three bottles that he set down in front of Qrow to use. "I thought you would have known."

"Hey, look, I'm just glad she's being taken care of." Qrow said. "I worry about her."

Junior nodded and hummed, watching as Qrow began to mix another drink without instruction. Every time Qrow reached for another bottle, Junior would simply tell him how much of the liquor inside needed to be used, which Qrow would follow accordingly.

This was how most of the night went for them, it was mostly just Qrow taking his time to learn the tricks of the trade as Junior guided him, slowly but surely. It was almost nine that night when Junior got up, and went to the door, pausing for a moment before looking back at Qrow over his shoulder.

"You want to see if you can handle this?" Junior's tone was level, and his expression serious. Qrow didn't have to think twice to know exactly what it was that Junior was asking of him.

Qrow stood up, stretched and walked to the door behind Junior in a silent affirmative. Junior went out into the club, and Qrow followed soon after.

Unlike how it was earlier in the night, the club was now bustling. A man wearing a gigantic bear head that was probably made out of paper mache was DJing, there were people on the dance floor, swaying to a slower tune, and Raven was leaned across the bar and flirting one of the patrons.

She looked up at the sound of the door opening and smiled. Qrow watched as she stepped out of the way, making room for Junior and Qrow by the register. Qrow stood by it, awkwardly, watching as Raven and Junior exchanged a few words.

Junior looked at Qrow, gesturing him over as Raven slipped out from behind the bar, removing what looked like a pack of cigarettes from her apron on the way out.

Qrow joined Junior, and kept his voice just low enough that the other man would be able to hear him without anyone else hearing him. "What's up?"

"I'm going to have you help me man the bar for a little bit, but when Raven's back in from her break, you're going to work with her." Junior rattled off his instructions. "It turns out there's a situation I may need to take care of."

"Right." Qrow said, looking at the area behind the bar and trying to memorize where everything was located so that he could be efficient when people came to order. "I'll take care of it, Junior."

That earned Qrow a worried look from Junior, but he was more than willing to take it. He was sure that whatever ended up being thrown his way was going to end up being something which he could ultimately handle. Junior walked up behind the cash register, and reached into a small drawer that was underneath it, removing what looked like a ragged black binder that had been spilled on over a thousand times. Every page had probably been laminated and then replaced once or twice over, by the looks of things.

Junior dropped the binder onto the counter in front of Qrow, it making a heavy thud as it landed there. Qrow looked at the binder, then back over at Junior for a moment. He opened his mouth to ask what it was for, only for Junior to speak up before he could even go ahead and pose the question to him.

"Recipes." Junior said, his voice gruff. "You should be able to find the ingredients easy enough, everything has been labelled somehow.

"And if I need something that's not here?"

"Then you find someone to come get me." Junior said as he slipped out from behind the counter. "I'm going to go deal with the thing, you just..."

"I'll be here." Qrow said with a shrug, picking up the binder and opening it up to the front page, which was just a list of that night's drink specials, probably something that Junior made sure to do every night as soon as he arrived there at the bar to work.

A man sidled up to the bar, and Qrow took his order and made him a drink as best as he could. He probably had to run through three or four different orders before Junior and Raven returned, with Junior looking a little worse for the wear and Raven smelling strongly of tobacco smoke. She came behind the counter and flashed him a quick smile before taking over for most of the night, with Qrow following her lead whenever he needed to.

He was used to following Raven and taking care of her. He was used to make sure she was alright.

This was nothing .

Early in the morning, Junior let Raven and Qrow off work, and stopped for a moment to ask whether Qrow needed a place to stay for the night or not.

Qrow paused, trying to find a good answer and running through the possibilities. He'd said that he could call Taiyang if he needed a way home for the night, or maybe he could call James and hope that the other man was kind enough to let him into his home for the night- not likely, Qrow thought. Not based on how his last time at James' house had gone.

He even thought about asking Junior to stay there for the night, but didn't do so. He didn't like intervening in Junior and Roman's life much, especially when they had three kids to take care of that couldn't have been any older than Ruby or Yang.

Enter Raven.

She set a hand on Qrow's shoulder, and looked up at Junior from behind her black locks. "Junior, I'm going to take care of him tonight, alright?" Raven offered, flashing Junior a smile.

Junior sighed, and looked at Qrow, silently asking if that was alright.

Qrow nodded, and looked over at Raven. "Yeah, I'll be good. Take care."

With that, the two of them left for the night.


	22. Butchered

Raven drove them across the city to a run down apartment building that probably was home to addicts, dealers, and the poor alike. It wasn't the most comfortable feeling for Qrow, riding on the back of his sister's motorcycle, but he could manage. It was just a quick drive through Atlas.

This apartment building though?

The last time he'd been somewhere that looked this bad had been their first house that they'd rented together in university.

It made Qrow's stomach churn just thinking about it.

"Like it?" Raven laughed as she parked the bike, climbing off of it in one smooth motion and unzipping the leather of her jacket as she walked towards the building. Qrow got off as well, swinging one leg over the side of the bike as he climbed down himself and followed after Raven, careful to stick close by her. "I know, it's just like home ."

She opened the front door, and together the two of them went inside, making their way up to the top floor which Raven insisted was the best one (Qrow doubted this. Buildings like these ones didn't come with penthouse suites.) He wanted to talk to her the entire way up to her room, but he couldn't think of anything. Nothing came to mind that he could say that would even come close to decoding what was going on there.

With a slow motion, Raven unlocked a door at the end of the hallway on her floor, and pushed it open to show a tiny apartment, that looked like its walls were peeling with paint, only to have been covered over with large swaths of butcher's paper that had been drawn and painted on at some point. It wasn't a nice place to live, Qrow figured, but it was Raven's.

And that was what mattered. She needed something that was hers. Even if it was this.

She stepped out of her heeled boots at the door and stepped into the room, turning around to face Qrow with as light of an expression as she could manage on her face. "So, baby brother." She asked, her eyes flicking to Qrow and then back away as quickly as they'd landed on him. "What do you think?" She reached up, removing her black hair from its ponytail and let it fall down her back.

God, Yang looked so much like her.

Qrow opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came. He closed his mouth again, and slipped out of his shoes before joining her in the actual apartment and closing the door behind him. "I think it's a place to live." Qrow commented. "Is this the place you're having trouble holding onto?" He walked up to Raven, wanting to hug her but deciding against it.

Instead, he let his eyes wander around the apartment.

Judging by his first glance around the apartment, Qrow was willing to bet that Raven lived alone, since the mess was very distinctly hers. Growing up, her spaces had always been like this. The clutter was too organized, like someone had gone through and made sure that if there was going to be a mess it was going to at the very least be categorized somehow.

There were two doors that Qrow was willing to bet led to a bathroom and a bedroom respectively. The kitchen was nothing fancy, really only a sink, fridge, and a stove and oven. It was all that Raven probably needed, Qrow reminded himself. She'd never been any good at cooking, and he had a feeling that hadn't exactly changed at any point.

Raven frowned, looking around the apartment as well. She reached out, let her fingers brush over a paper-covered wall and sighed before looking over at Qrow. "Yeah, this is the place. How's the-"

"I have the money." Qrow said, cutting Raven off before she could finish asking the question. "If I'd known that I was going to see you tonight I would have even made a point to bring it with me so that I could take care of you." He sighed, shaking his head. "You know I worry about you."

"I know." Raven said, her crimson eyes straying over in Qrow's direction for just a moment before she looked away from him again. "You worry about me because you're my brother. It's what you're supposed to do."

"Yeah." Qrow resigned himself. "Yeah, it is."

Their eyes met for just a moment. "I could drive you to get the money tonight, you know?" Raven offered, flashing him a smile. "I mean, we'd probably arrive around 3 in the morning."

"I don't think that's such a good idea." Qrow chuckled. "Your bike would wake up the girls and the dog, and since you don't want them knowing that you're still around-"

"Yeah." Raven sighed. "You're right." She went to the couch in the center of the apartment and seated herself on one edge of it, crossing her legs and facing in Qrow's direction in a silent invitation for him to go ahead and join her there on the couch.

Qrow took it, walked over to the couch and seated himself with his back against one of the armrests as he faced Raven. There was a coffee table in the middle of the room, with five or six empty bottles sitting on it.

Qrow grimaced, knowing exactly what that meant- he'd had to deal with that before too. He still did. He reached out, offering Raven his hands so that if she wanted to, she could hold onto him for comfort. "You know you can probably come home whenever you want, right Raven?" He looked down at his hands as hers slid into his grip.

Squeezed gently.

Noticed that her knuckles were beginning to heal quite nicely.

"I don't know that Qrow." Raven whispered. She also stared down at their hands, and ran a thumb over one of the rings that Qrow liked to wear on his left hand. "You know that."

"I don't know that, Raven." Qrow whispered back. He raised a finger, giving Raven better access to the silver band that sat there. "Tai and Summer miss you."

"No they don't."

"They do." Qrow insisted. "They miss you so much."

Raven pulled her hands away from Qrow, creating a gap between the two of them that might as well have been galaxies wide. Qrow winced, realizing that he'd probably already misstepped. He wondered for a moment whether he was going to have to call Taiyang to make sure that he would be able to get home that night or not.

He also wondered whether he should call Taiyang there anyways just to make sure that his family was together again for once.

No, Qrow told himself.

That was wrong.

As much as he wanted to have Raven, Summer, and Taiyang together again, he knew that going ahead and making Raven have to confront the other two was a really bad idea. He didn't know what it would look like if they clashed again, if there would be explosions, or fistfights, or screaming matches that the girls would be left to hide from.

Qrow folded his hands together and looked up at Raven now.

His heart could have shattered the moment he saw her face.

It was like she wasn't there, like she was a thousand universes away, or worse, trapped in her own with no chance of travel to her. Like she didn't even know that he was still there on the couch just across from her. He could have slid his foot forward and they would have touched.

How was it possible to be so close to someone and yet so far away?

What had happened to them?

They'd grown up together, attached at the hip and happy to play the identical twins for as long as they could get away with it. They'd been happy to have the same friends, and take care of each other, and run and play and be together.

Oh, how he wanted his sister back.

But he didn't just want her back.

He wanted her back whole .

And that, Qrow thought, that was impossible. People didn't fall apart like she did and then put themselves back together so easily.

When Raven spoke again, he had to strain to be able to hear her voice. "Do you really think they miss me?" She turned her head, careful to look away from Qrow and not give them a chance of connecting properly to each other. He wouldn't have been surprised if she'd somehow sensed what he was thinking.

"I know they do." Qrow mumbled. "More than you can imagine."

Raven turned now, moving so that she was no longer facing Qrow with her back against the armrest of the couch, instead she shifted so that she could sit facing forward towards the wall. Qrow took the cue and shifted his own position so that they could sit shoulder to shoulder. And when they did, he let himself reach out, wrap his arms around Raven, and pull her close to him.

Raven's hands gently fisted in his shirt, and he prepared himself to be the very rare shoulder that she had to cry into these days.

He had the strong feeling that neither of them really had that many people that they could go to these days. For the most part, all Qrow had were Summer, Taiyang, and his more interesting coworkers from time to time.

But Raven?

Raven had nobody, at least to Qrow's knowledge. The closest she probably had other than him was probably Junior, and Junior was her boss. Not accessible. No, Raven was alone.

And thinking about that fact absolutely broke Qrow's heart every time it came to mind.

He reached up, and let his fingers stray down Raven's hair, gently petting the places where the strands flew away down and hoped that he'd be able to comfort her. Hoped that he didn't have to find a way home in a tear-soaked shirt.

"How are the girls?" Raven finally asked, her voice just over a whisper. "How's my Yang?"

"She's happy." Qrow whispered, making sure not to upset her. "We had a cookout this last weekend."

"How was it?"

"She had fun." Qrow said, staring ahead at the butcher paper covered walls, drinking in the sight of what looked like Raven's representation of what Yang would have looked like.

The drawing looked too much like Taiyang.

Raven sat up, rubbed at her eyes, and looked into Qrow's eyes for the first time. "What did she do?"

"Tai and Summer got a pool." Qrow answered, keeping his voice as level as possible. "And we invited some people over so there was a sleepover."

"Good." Raven whispered. "Good." She shook her head, like she was trying to banish some sort of evil thought from it before she truly zeroed in on Qrow for the first time. "So, what were you doing at the bar tonight?"

"Junior offered me work." Qrow said, hoping that he wouldn't have to divulge any more of it than he had to. "How long have you been working with him?"

"Not long." Raven said, sighing. "Pretty much only since I last saw you."

"When's your rent due?"

"Sunday." Raven answered. "Can you do that?"

"Yeah." Qrow mumbled. "I think so."

Raven pushed away from Qrow then, stood up and crossed the room, going to a tiny shelf that looked like it'd been made from old milk crates and reached in, like she was looking for something. Finding it, she turned around and held up a small box of something that looked like it had been wrapped as a gift. "Qrow, you know there's a reason I offered to take you here, right?" Raven asked, shifting the box from one hand to the other.

Of course, Qrow thought bitterly.

Of course she wanted something from him that wasn't just the pleasure of his company.

Typical Raven.

She crossed the room, seated herself next to Qrow, and set the small box down on the table in front of them. For the first time, Qrow was able to get a good look at it. The box looked like it was roughly the size of a jewelry box, like it was meant to hold a necklace or maybe a bracelet inside. Qrow wondered where it came from, but couldn't bring himself to ask about it.

He figured that whatever the truth was, it wasn't going to be good.

"What's in the box?" Qrow asked, eyeing the box for a long moment before letting his eyes flick up to Raven.

Raven looked at the box as well, then back to Qrow. "I just..." She hesitated, pursing her lips and furrowing her brow before she thought of something to say. "I've been thinking a lot, you know."

"I mean..." Qrow hesitated. "I don't really know that. But what's going on?"

"It's almost been ten years, Qrow."

Oh.

Shit.

That, now that was hard to think about.

He opened his mouth to say something, but couldn't think of anything that he was supposed to do. She reached out, placing a hand on his knee to quiet him, then continued.

"She's almost ten, isn't she?"

"She is."

"And I..." Raven picked up the box, and took one of Qrow's hands with her free one before setting the box down there in his palm. Carefully, she folded his fingers around the box. "I want you to give this to her for her birthday. You don't even have to tell her that it's from me, but I-"

Oh .

Qrow inhaled deeply, and looked down at the box, then up to Raven. He was going to have to ask the question, he figured. He was going to have to ask the question of where she'd gotten the money to get Yang a gift, or he was going to have to deal with the repercussions of what happened if the gift turned out to be a stolen one.

And even then, there was the possibility that the reason Raven couldn't afford her rent was because she'd gone out and spent all of her money on an expensive gift for Yang.

"I get it." Qrow finally said, locking eyes with Raven. "I'll give it to her but... Raven, I need to know-"

"What-"

He paused, he had so many questions that he wanted to, no, needed to ask but he couldn't bring himself to. He could pretend that he'd bought the gift, sure, but he didn't know what he was supposed to say or do or how he was supposed to play along like he'd been the one to buy it. Especially when he was in a position that left him living on Tai and Summer's couch.

Especially when he didn't know what was in the box himself.

Finally, he let himself speak. "Raven, where did you get this?"

"I bought it." She answered stiffly, crossing her arms over her chest and looking away from him. Qrow kept his eyes on her, and when he saw that she didn't go pale or flush red, he knew it was true. "I... I saved for a long time to get it, Qrow."

Okay, Qrow thought. That was something. But he still had questions that he needed to have answered for him pretty desperately. "Ok." He mumbled, giving Raven the first sign that she was trusting him on the issue of where the gift had come from. "Do you want me to tell her?"

"Of course I do." Raven whispered, hugging herself and half curling in on herself with the motion. "But I know that..." She hesitated. "I know that's probably not a good thing for you."

Qrow froze, trying to think of whether there was anything that he could say or do that would make things better. He paused, and took the moment to rub a hand across his face, letting his stubble prick against his palm as he tried to put together any sort of strategy for maneuvering the minefield that had just been put in front of him.

He thought of something.

"Raven, I think you should write her a card. And on the day of her birthday, I want you to text me and tell me whether you want me to give that to her or whether..."

"Or whether?"

"Or whether you want me to hold onto it. Give it to her when she's older."

"I don't like putting you in this position, Qrow, you know that right?" Raven said, her eyes still glued on the box that sat in Qrow's hands. "But I just.."

"I get it." Qrow muttered. "I think I get it, at least. She's your kid."

"Do you think she hates me?"

And that right there was the magic question that was probably going to be the key to how everything went for them in the near future.

The worst part of that question was that Qrow had a feeling that he was never going to have an actual answer for Raven. It wasn't so simple as a yes or no, and no matter what, they would have to inevitably deal with the fact that Yang had never met Raven. The fact was that Yang probably never would get to meet Raven, and that was one of the most painful things that the two of them would ever have to come to confront.

But Qrow knew how Tai and Summer were. Even though they didn't talk about Raven much, they always made sure to speak of Raven favorably when it came to Yang.

They didn't want her to hate Raven.

Nobody wanted that.

Qrow wanted that the absolute least of all. He wanted to see his sister back, he wanted to see Taiyang, Summer, and Raven together the way that they used to be, back before the kids came along. The way that they were back when everything was completely normal for them and everyone was happy.

Finally, Qrow forced himself to say something. "I don't think she does, Raven." He said, standing up and patting his pockets until he found his phone. "I should get going back to Vale, you know that, right?"

"I figured." Raven said, shaking her head. "I can drive you back to the club so that you don't risk getting looks from Tai if you want."

"Thanks." Qrow said, flashing Raven a weak smile. "I think I'd like that."

Raven nodded, going to the door and slipping into a pair of shoes and her leather jacket so that she wouldn't end up wind burnt on their little ride across town. While Raven got ready, Qrow called Taiyang, hoping that he'd be able to make sure that he wasn't left waiting too long. With the assurance that Taiyang was on his way, Qrow hung up the phone and turned to face Raven.

He walked to the door and slipped into his shoes. "Tai's on his way, but it shouldn't be so long that you have to see him." He offered the words as a reassurance, but he knew that it probably wasn't going to be enough to really fix things.

That was okay though.

Together, the two made their way out of the building, walking side by side the same way that they had done a thousand times over when they were young. It almost felt like it had all happened in a previous life, and Qrow really didn't know how he was supposed to feel about that fact. Whether it was supposed to be a comfort or a curse.

As he climbed onto the motorcycle behind Raven and wrapped his arms around her waist in a way that he'd never been comfortable with, he wondered whether he even cared.

He just wanted his sister taken care of and safe.

They got to the bar, and said their goodbyes. Qrow whispered an "I love you" into Raven's hair in the middle of a hug before it was time to pull away.

She didn't say anything back, just gave him a sad look before driving back off into the night.

Taiyang arrived, and somehow Qrow managed to hide the jewelry box from him long enough to get home and hide it in his bag.

He'd get in contact with Raven again. Sooner than later.

He had to.


	23. Do As The Romans Do

The day of the next meeting, Roman called James first thing in the morning. He sounded like he was half-desperate for any sort of help that he could get. Through a babble that was mostly incoherent to his sleep-addled mind, James learned that Roman wanted him to come over to talk about the layout of the Salem Group headquarters, though he didn't explain why.

But considering that it was Roman, that felt typical. James didn't question it. He could go and look over blueprints with Roman if he had to, and maybe even go for a drive around the premises if that was what Roman wanted.

There was a particularly loud part of James that told him it was just Roman trying to get him to feel better. This wasn't the first time that Roman had done such a thing by any means. If anything, this meant that there was the chance that they'd be able to get something done that was actually productive.

He had to force himself out of the house, really. He had to force himself to go down the stairs of his house and pass by the bathroom where he still hadn't bothered to replace the mirror or really finish the cleanup from earlier.

James really didn't want to have to confront it.

So instead of staying at the house trapped with his own thoughts, James left for the day, got into his car, and drove across town to Roman and Junior's apartment as he'd been asked to. Roman probably wanted to take James' car as opposed to his own, James thought. That was probably at least half of it.

James pulled up onto Candle Street, where Roman was waiting outside of the apartment, waiting for him like nothing had ever happened there- like he was just waiting for a friend to pick him up for a day out.

Slowly, James hit the horn on the car to jostle Roman's attention towards him.

The redhead looked up, blinked visibly (it appeared Roman had chosen to go heavy on the eye makeup that day, it seemed) and then stood up, taking a moment to brush any dirt and gravel off of his pants before approaching James' car.

The thin man pulled the door open and immediately was in the passenger's seat of James' car. Instead of sitting and waiting for Roman to speak, James pulled away from the curb and back into traffic, rolling up to the stop sign there as he had a thousand times over.

Roman finally spoke when they were embedded in traffic. "Hey Jim," the thin man made his greeting. "Glad you were able to make it."

"What's this about?" James asked, keeping his eyes glued onto the road in front of him before letting them flick over to Roman, who was pulling his seat belt over his body. "You didn't really explain yourself."

Roman grinned widely, and held up his phone as though it would be able to explain everything away like nothing had happened. "The answer to that question, Jim, is right here."

"And what is it?" James deadpanned, pressing his foot to the gas pedal to roll forward. "And why did you call me?"

"I simply wanted to make sure my friend was going to be comfortable enough to do this job," Roman explained, as though it was somehow the best way to explain away the entire situation. "And since you and Glynda got into it the other day-"

" Roman- "

"Look, I'm just a deeply concerned friend looking out for his coworker." Roman said, his voice sounding like it was surprisingly serious for the first time in all of James' memory. Roman didn't do serious, it wasn't his thing. So now that James was there, hearing Roman sounding like it was a matter of life and death made a big difference. Roman wasn't here to play games. He was here to do work. "So, talk to me. Let me lead. Let me make you feel better."

James had to fight back a scowl from reaching his face. Despite what may or may not have been one of Roman's usual playful flirtations, he knew that fighting Roman on this probably wasn't the best thing that he could do. Roman was trying to keep the peace between the group. It was respectable, but James didn't know whether he was going to get the full sympathy that he wanted.

"Okay." James' grip tightened on the steering wheel of his car as he drove around the city aimlessly. When it was time for them to make an important stop, they would make one. "Tell me what this is about."

Roman nodded, and let himself relax into his seat, if only slightly. "Junior had his first day on the job doing security." Roman finally announced, like it was the most obvious thing in the world to say. "And he got some things that... Well, it's stuff that you wanted."

With the raise of an eyebrow, James let himself exhale and try to process what it was that Roman was trying to say to him. He ran through the conflict at the last meeting in his head, and he quickly realized that he'd asked questions that they hadn't been ready to answer just yet. Resigning himself to what was happening, James spoke up again. "So he got blueprints."

"Yes." Roman answered, unlocking the phone with a quiet click and smiling down at the screen. "And a schedule for the night."

"That's-"

"Yeah." Roman chuckled. "It is." There was a quiet moment where a silence was allowed to hang between the two of them, and James allowed himself to savor it. It had been a very long time since he and Roman had last done a drive through of a night's plans. "So, do you want to get a look at the building?"

"Yes." James said, his voice hard. "I think we should have some idea as to what we're up against."

"But of course." Roman pulled up the first blueprint on the phone, and pinched and spread his fingers on the screen so that he could get the image that was being displayed in the palm of his hand to change and adjust as he needed. "We can find the outer entrances and look at the roads around there. We won't be able to go in, of course, but we can at least get an idea."

"Of course." James mumbled. "While it's not ideal, it's more than we had a week ago."

"Which is why I invited you along for this little adventure." Roman said pointedly. "You're the one who likes all the tactical stuff, and since you're the one that was worried-" A shrug. "It just made sense, James."

James inhaled deeply and tried to figure out exactly what he wanted to say to Roman. Tried to figure out exactly what he was going to do now that he was essentially a captive audience to the other man. Not that he minded it at all, but it was awkward.

Roman zoomed in further on a certain part of the blueprint on his phone and continued talking. "Do you think you can get us over towards the headquarters for the Salem Group?" Roman looked up from his phone, focusing his eyes onto James' profile.

It wasn't a comfortable feeling.

James took a long moment to think about what the correct answer to that was. He could say yes and try to navigate his way there, or he could ask Roman to either get out James' GPS or bring up a map on one of their phones.

"Yeah." James finally answered, making a quick decision so that he could responsibly get them to where they needed to be. "I think my GPS is in the glove box."

"Got it." Roman dropped his phone down into his lap and leaned forward to pull open the compartment in front of him. He rooted around for a moment, before pausing and pulling out James' gps, which had a photograph of Penny sticking to the front of it. "Oh, hey, I recognize this face-"

" Roman- "

"She's cute, James." Roman smiled, slipping the photograph back away and into safety before looking down at the GPS in his lap. "Is she holding up alright?"

"As okay as she can." James said, realizing fully well that he probably sounded incredibly bitter to be saying that. "It's been… hard."

"I figured as much." Roman said, turning on the GPS and watching as it went through its many welcome screens. "Neo's trying to adjust to things, too. This last year has been-" Roman paused, like the words that he wanted to say had gotten caught in his throat with no chance of escape. "Different. For everyone."

"I know." James said, doing his absolute best so that he could keep his voice and tone as level as possible. He didn't want to say something to upset Roman, since in the end there was nothing that made him want to dislike Roman.

Roman was a good person, he was just involved in weird things. And James couldn't judge, not really. In the end they both did the same thing- they cared for their families and they survived.

The redhead shook his head, beginning to program the address for the Salem Group's headquarters into the GPS so that they could get the the most immediate look at what they were going to be doing. "I just... things are different. And I worry about you and your daughter." Roman leaned forward in his seat and set the GPS on the dashboard. There was a moment where he hesitated, like there was something else that Roman really wanted to say to James but the words caught in his throat instead of coming to the forefront.

Instead, James decided to take the reins. "I know that people worry. I'm doing my best to get my life back. For Penny and myself. And once I have the money to be stable and Penny back, then I think..." James grimaced, feeling what he wanted to say stick in his mouth like there was something wrong with it. "I think I'm going to go straight."

Roman paused, opened his mouth like he wanted to say something or crack an inappropriate joke, and then closed it again. Like there was something that he wanted to say but couldn't figure out whether it was appropriate or wrong to say.

Then finally, he spoke. "You think so?"

"Yeah." James admitted, and for a moment it almost felt like there was a weight being lifted off of his chest, if only temporarily. "I'm getting too old to keep doing this, and I've already almost left my daughter alone." I'm too young to die.

Roman was quiet, like what James had said was making him think about his own future, about what would happen to his own kids should something go wrong at some point. He looked down at his hands and swallowed, his body swaying slightly as James took a left turn. "James, can you be honest with me?"

"Yes."

"Why did you even come back?"

And that was the million dollar question.

For so long, James had told himself that he was eventually going to have to answer this question to someone and hope that they were willing to accept it.

It was about his bills.

No.

It was about his daughter.

No.

He had medical bills to keep up with.

No.

He liked the adrenaline rush.

Definitely not.

James' mind raced as he tried to figure out exactly what it was that he wanted to say to Roman. He was afraid to give Roman an answer, largely because he was afraid of what Roman could say to him or would be willing to say to him.

"I have bills to keep up with." James said, hardening his heart and his features as he gave Roman an answer, as weak as it ended up sounding.

And the issue was that James didn't even know how much Roman really knew about what had happened that day so many months back. He didn't know whether Roman had the displeasure of having to bear witness to the crash, or whether Roman knew about the extent of James' injuries. If Roman knew all of that, then the other man would surely look down on James for making the decision to come back.

"Bills, bills, bills." Roman chuckled, looking forward and leaning in his seat a bit, like he was craning his neck to get a better view of one of the buildings that they were passing by. James wondered for just a moment whether he'd passed the building that they were trying to find or not, surely if he had the GPS would have said something about it. "Look, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

It was like a sigh of relief to James, hearing those words. "Thank you." He mumbled.

"Turn here." Roman commanded before the GPS could say anything to protest it. James nodded and turned onto a small side street. Roman reached out and turned off the GPS, his green eyes scanning around the area. "Do you think you're good to walk?"

"Is this really how you want to scout the location?" James asked, incredulously.

Roman looked over at James, then out the window of the car again. "What's wrong, Jim. Worried I'll want to hold hands?"

"Roman." James kept his voice low, a warning. "That's-"

"Let me guess." Roman answered, waving a hand nonchalantly. "Inappropriate. I don't see what the big deal is-"

"Roman-"

"I do it all the time-"

"Roman-"

"Oh come on, don't act like you don't like it."

James' face turned red for a moment and he just stared forward, pulling into a parking spot and tried desperately not to think about what Roman had just said too much or too deeply. When the car was finally parked, James let himself lean forward, cushioning his forehead against his hands for a moment before inhaling deeply.

The car was silent, and then Roman finally spoke, like he was realizing that he may have misstepped. "...James?"

"I don't want to talk about it." James said, reaching out and pushing the car door open so that he could step out onto the street. "You better be able to get us to the headquarters without any issues."

"I can do it." Roman replied, getting out of the passenger's side of the car and stretching slightly as he did so. "Come on, I wouldn't want to waste the rest of your old age waiting around here."

"Roman-" James started. Reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose before inhaling deeply again. "-I'm only three years older than you."

Roman froze, opening his mouth as though he was trying to come up with a way to protest that he wasn't old himself, but then just huffed. He must have failed to come up with something, James realized. "Fine." Roman grumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets and letting his hat slump forward on his head. "Let's do our little scouting mission, shall we?"

"Yes." James mumbled. "We shall."

"Good." Roman stepped up alongside James, only taking a few steps before he straightened up and walked proudly. "So, the building-"

"Yes-"

Roman turned slightly, raising a hand to subtly point the building out to James. It's top stood up tall against the skyline, looking almost like a steeple and showing proudly that it belonged there. On the side, in glowing letters, it said one name in all capitals, illuminated by red lighting.

SALEM.

"Heh." Roman chuckled. "Talk about compensating-"

"Roman, their CEO is a woman."

"Compensating."

"You have a one track mind." James sighed, staring up at the building still. James shook his head, realizing that talking any real sense into Roman on this matter probably wasn't going to be possible. The best that he could hope for was that he'd be able to get Roman focused and keep him focused as they walked through this job. "Where are we supposed to go?"

"Well." Roman got his phone out of his pocket again, and held it in front of him as though he were playing some sort of game that would require him to geocache. "There are three entrances that I've noticed on the blueprints."

"Alright," James answered, examining the side of the building carefully. "Let me guess-"

"Employee, main, and back." Roman answered before James could finish his statement. "The night we do this-"

"Glynda and myself will be coming in at the front. The rest will be coming in at the employee entrance." James said, before Roman could finish what he was talking about. "And as for us leaving?"

"Main for you and Glynda." Roman said. "Everyone else will be employee."

James shook his head, wondering about that. Wondering whether that particular part of the plan was really a good idea on any level. He didn't like it when they were all going to be in one place and ended up having to split off like that. He knew that for the sake of this job it was necessary for them to do so. They couldn't all play guests, and it was best for them to have some people on the inside to make this whole thing go off without a hitch.

He just really wished that it wasn't so big.

"Got it." James finally said. "We should find that employee entrance, in that case. Glynda and I won't have any problem getting in through the front, but the rest of you will need the side for the getaway."

Roman shifted slightly, craning his neck as he tried to eye down the building in search of what he needed. Seeing nothing, he frowned and teetered back onto his feet as he should have stood normally. "The blueprints put it near the parking lot, but I don't want to get too close to it."

"So what do you suggest?"

"What I suggest-" Roman smiled. "Is that you and I go for a walk around the building and act like we're-" He hummed, trying to think of the right thing to say or do while they walked. "Maybe play like we're looking for a specific restaurant?"

"That'll have to do." James said, glad that they at least had a cover story down for this. "Lead the way."

Roman nodded and took the lead, crossing the street with James so that they could get alongside the building as they walked. He looked over at it once in awhile, trying to peer in through the windows to see if there was anyone inside.

James was content with the quiet, but he knew that it would look less suspicious if he and Roman at least put in the effort to make some small talk. He cleared his throat, then spoke, although he kept his volume low so that the two of them didn't get overheard. "So, Roman?"

"So he wants to talk?" Roman chuckled. "What is it, James?"

"I wanted to ask how Junior's doing." James said, keeping his voice as level as possible to prove that this was in fact small talk. "And your girls."

"They're happy." Roman said, looking forward at the building. "Junior and I used some of the money from this last job to buy birthday presents for the twins. The rest goes to bills." Roman sighed. "You know how it is."

"Yeah, I do." James answered, letting his eyes flick up to that damn billboard on the side of the building again. "Do you mind if I ask?"

"Nah." There was a moment of quiet. "You don't ask things that get invasive, so."

For some reason, hearing those words from Roman felt like a small relief to James, though he didn't ask what it meant. He figured it just meant that he didn't press too far against Roman, which was good he supposed. He shook his head, and then finally asked the question. "Has Neo adapted to having Junior around all right?"

"Yeah." Roman sighed. "It was hard at first, you know? The whole language barrier thing." He looked away from James for just a moment then back at the building just in front of them. "I think she was a little afraid of him and she managed to adapt to him and the twins." Roman blinked, looked down at the pavement for a moment, then strayed his eyes back over into James' direction. "Is there a reason you're asking?"

"I-" James hesitated, thinking back to Penny for just a moment as he tried to put together what he really was trying to ask Roman. "I don't know. I'm worried about Penny, is all." James explains. "If I ever wanted to... I don't know how she'd react to me seeing someone that's not her mother."

Roman's green eyes softened. "James," he started, letting his voice go quiet. "She's never even seen you with her mother. What's changing things now?"

"I don't know." James grumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets. "That's the thing. I don't know. The last year's been hard and she's trying to adjust but there's no instruction manual. There's no roadmap that says exactly what I'm supposed to do to raise my kid."

"So you're afraid that you're messing up?"

James was silent, then finally managed to speak. "How could I not?" He let his eyes stray back to his right hand, gloved as ever. "She almost lost me, Roman. And what I'm seeing now it's... it's not her. She used to be happy and unafraid and now she's not ."

"I'm sorry." Roman whispered. "You know it's not your fault."

"People keep telling me that," James managed. "But I don't know if I believe it."

Roman reached out, and placed a gentle hand on James' right shoulder for just a moment, and even squeezed. James almost felt his heart stop at the motion, but Roman didn't pause. He didn't do anything or say anything and to James there wasn't a single greater relief than that. Roman knew something, James realized, but he didn't say anything.

"I believe it." Roman said, pulling his hand away after a moment. "And I think you will too eventually. Things are hard right now. We get it. James, I-" Roman paused, stopping dead in his tracks as he let his eyes cross the parking lot ahead of them. It was a sudden shift, and then Roman was speaking again like he'd just forgotten their entire conversation. "I think I found the door."

Those words almost left James feeling crushed as he realized that he had no idea what Roman had just been about to say, and he had even less of an idea of what he wanted for Roman to have said then. He hadn't wanted a change in topic, but in the end, he was on a job with Roman. They couldn't throw that all aside just to talk.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Prioritize.

Roman lifted his phone and snapped a photo of the side door before looking back over at James and smiling. "How about we get to the back and we'll say that's everything we needed for today?"

James resigned himself. "Alright." He murmured. "We'll do that."


	24. Higher

Qrow came back to Atlas after a few days spent at home in Vale. He'd made sure to leave the little package that Raven had given him carefully hidden away in a place where he was sure nobody would manage to find it. He didn't know what he was supposed to be doing in Atlas, since Junior hadn't said anything about coming to the bar, instead only inviting him over to his and Roman's for work reasons.

So now, Qrow was being dropped off by Taiyang in front of the apartment building on Candle Street that seemed to have become the de facto headquarters for everything that they did these days. Even if they had an official headquarters at a warehouse in the city, this was where they did all of their operations. He didn't like being to these meetings early, but he figured that being there early wasn't a bad idea.

Especially when he knew that James was always there early.

A fleeting feeling in his stomach made him wonder whether he would be able to get James alone in that elevator again. Whether he'd be able to push him the way that he had before as easily, whether he'd be able to win a second kiss, though he was sure it would inevitably be reluctant. He wanted to- oh, he wanted to.

But that was a bad idea.

As nice as the weekend with the cookout where all the kids were around had been, this didn't make up for the fact that in the end, James only saw him as a co-worker and nothing else. Qrow sighed, shook his head and reminded himself that he'd messed up, very badly. In ways that probably weren't getting fixed so easily.

He was about to walk around to the side of the building when he saw James' silver car pulling up to the building.

Shit.

He didn't need something to push him into thinking about James more.

This was very, very bad.

The car parked, and Qrow reached up, half panicked as he hit the button that would get for either Junior or Roman to let him into the building. He listened for the buzz that would be the sign that he could go in, and when he heard it, he realized that James was almost at the door, with Winter walking at his side.

Shit.

He pulled the door open, and realizing that they were too close, Qrow resigned himself to holding it open for James and Winter. Winter came to the door first, shouldering past Qrow and then when James was there, they paused for just a moment, their eyes meeting. It was a little too close to comfort, Qrow realized. Probably not only for him, but even moreso for James.

And Winter was watching it from the sidelines now.

Surely, she didn't know about what had happened. Surely, she was just there with James because she'd needed a ride there and then home later on in the night.

Qrow wondered for a moment whether it would be possible for him to get James to let him stay the night if the girl was there as a buffer. It was a bad idea, and Qrow knew that, he and Winter tended to go together like water and oil. There was no way that James would be willing to deal with both of them for more than an hour. He hadn't even been willing to be in the same car as the two of them on the last job.

James turned his head to look at Winter and he nodded to her, giving the girl permission to go on ahead and up to Roman and Junior's apartment. She opened her mouth to protest for a moment, only to be stopped by a wave of James' hand. There was a quick look of rejection that flashed across her face, and then she turned, heading up to the apartment.

That left James and Qrow alone.

With one great stride, James passed by Qrow and got inside of the building. "Qrow." He greeted the shorter man, and waited by the door.

God, this was terrible.

Qrow stepped inside and let the door swing closed behind him. He opened his mouth to say something, but half stumbled over his words as he looked for them. "Hey, Jimmy." James opened his mouth to protest, but Qrow raised a hand this time, stopping him. "I know, your name is James."

James didn't close his mouth, letting it hover open for just a moment before speaking up. "We should-"

"Right-"

The two went further into the building, like they were violently uncomfortable being side by side these days, but still did it anyways. As they got to the stairs, there was a moment of hesitation, like James was trying to choose between the stairs and the elevator. James opened his mouth to speak, and then Qrow decided to cut him off again.

"So, do you want to take the elevator?" Qrow asked. "Or would you prefer the stairs?"

"I'd prefer the elevator." James mumbled, going towards the elevator door and pausing for just a moment before looking back at Qrow from the corner of his eye. "Though I would prefer to be able to ride alone."

"Are you sure?" Qrow asked, ready to join James. "It'd probably look less weird to Winter if you didn't show up there alone."

James blinked, realizing that Qrow was right. He reached out, and punched the button, calling the box down to bring them up to Roman's apartment. "Yeah." James muttered. "Fine, go ahead, you can ride with me."

"Thanks." Qrow smirked, and soon the two of them were joined in the elevator. James took his spot where he'd been the last time they'd been here together, and Qrow took his.

Neither of them moved, aside from James punching the button that would inevitably bring them up to the correct floor. The doors closed, and then James spoke. "You're here early."

"You're a good influence." Qrow said, making a point not to look at James directly. "What can I say?"

"I do my best." James mumbled, closing his eyes and letting his head tilt back just enough that the back hit the elevator. Qrow wondered whether some of the hairs in the back would stick up from static electricity when James moved to pull away. "How are things at home?"

"They're good." Qrow said with a heavy sigh. "They think I have a regular job now, so I'm hoping I'll be able to get off of the couch soon."

"That's good." James said, still not looking at Qrow. "I'm sure they'll be very happy for you."

"Yeah, me too." Qrow mumbled before finally letting himself look at James.

Shit, he shouldn't have done that.

Despite everything, despite all of his knowledge of James, Qrow figured that he probably should have been ready for the fact that James had a strong profile, or the way that James' blue eyes were once again tinged with red from the light of the floor indicator on the elevator. God, he wanted so badly to cross the elevator again and close that gap again that existed between them.

This time, it felt even worse.

And this time, Qrow didn't have any desire to bring those problems back up to the surface again.

James wasn't into him. Qrow had accepted that fact. The guy was probably straight, even if it seemed like James had gotten flustered in Qrow's presence in the past.

But those times were when James was seeing him shirtless, or mostly naked, Qrow reminded himself. It might not be attraction but rather it was probably just the result of general embarrassment on James' part.

They were both quiet for a long moment as the elevator began moving. Qrow crossed his arms over his chest, and he just let himself watch James.

Everything felt too scarily similar to last time.

"So." Qrow managed to say, feeling like a weight was pressing down on his chest and was never going to let up on him. "Jim, does this mean that we're cool?" When James looked over at him and raised an eyebrow in confusion, Qrow uncrossed his arms and gestured around the elevator.

James opened his mouth to say something, but looked away from Qrow instead as he failed to find a good answer for the other mean. "I don't know." James admitted finally. Something about the way that James had said them almost made it sound like they were poison dancing on his tongue. Like not knowing was the worst thing in the world.

Qrow was dumb enough to let a quick feeling of hope well up in his chest.

"Look, Qrow, I'm willing to just forget about last time." James began, reiterating the same points to Qrow that he'd probably already made a thousand times over at this point. "I've said that a few times now. Why don't you want to let this go?"

That was a good question.

God, if there was any good question it was that one.

Why did it have to be the one that Qrow was never going to be able to answer properly?

If there was an answer, Qrow would have said something immediately, but there wasn't one. Not really. He opened his mouth, ready to say the first thing that came to his mind. "Because I like you?" He said, not even realizing how dumb that sounded at first.

"You... like me." James deadpanned, like he couldn't believe what he'd just heard Qrow said. Like Qrow had somehow just devolved to a middle schooler directly in front of him with no explanation. "That's it? You like me."

"I-" Qrow paused, looked away from James and at the steel wall beside him instead. He let his eyes dance over the repetitive engraved pattern that decorated the wall, hoping that it would help to do something to comfort him or at the very least, calm him down. "Yeah. I like spending time with you James, and I know, I'm probably the only one. The cookout was fun, the night we got Chinese was fun. I enjoy spending time with you."

James shook his head this time out of sheer inability to believe what Qrow was saying. "Qrow, you know that as soon as one of us leaves this group, that's the end of it, right?"

"Is it?'

"Nobody keeps contact after they leave, Qrow." James grimaced. "Nobody. They have lives to move onto that don't include close contact with criminals. It's safer that way."

"Are you planning on leaving?" Qrow asked, knowing that as of right now he wasn't planning to go himself.

"Yes." James said, his eyes focusing on the elevator door in front of them. "I am."

"When?"

"When I have the money to guarantee that I can pay my bills." James swallowed. He lifted a hand up to his face, covering his mouth with it for just a moment and looking away from the door, like he'd realized that there were no answers to be found there. "And I have Penny more full time."

Qrow swallowed his nerves down, realizing that it wasn't much, but it was something. It offered nothing concrete that he was really able to hold onto. There was no timeline drawn out, just a vague when. There were factors that were probably very far from James' control.

"Well, I'll miss you when that happens." Qrow says, finally deciding that it was in his best interests to say something instead of standing there completely silent. "I hope that the kids would be enough to keep us in contact."

"We'll see about that." James said, his voice dipping in pitch. "Qrow, we're partners. That's all. I don't know what you want."

"At least call me your friend." Qrow offered, hoping that would be the very least that he needed to get James to take the bait. "We can be that, at least?"

"I don't know, Qrow." The elevator lurched to a halt, and the door opened up to the floor where Roman and Junior lived.

James was about to step out, but Qrow pushed himself across the elevator, stepping in James' way and hit the button that would close the door to the elevator before dragging his hand down the row of buttons to keep them captive.

" Qrow, what the hell-"

"Neither of us are leaving this elevator until we've talked, James." Qrow said, keeping his voice dangerously level as though it would be enough to scare James into staying and not trying to escape. He stood in James' way, and for the second time, he made the move to pen James into a corner.

This time, it would be different.

This time, he would not press his lips to James'.

No.

This time, they were just going to talk.

"Why are you so-"

"So what?" For the first time, Qrow caught himself growling at James as opposed to the other way around.

" Obsessed ." James snarled the word at Qrow. He stepped forward, squaring his shoulders for the first time and using his height advantage to its fullest to show his physical superiority over Qrow. ""Why are you like this? You claim you want to be my friend, but you kissed me- "

"James-"

" Without my consent , I might add." James raised his voice, just enough to make a point,a nd for a moment, Qrow didn't know whether he found it scary or attractive. And that, was a very, very bad thing. "What do you want from me?"

"I want you to stop with the mixed messages, for one." Qrow pushed himself up as far as he could. using his own build to his advantage, though he knew he would never really be able to match up to James in stature. "I can't figure out who you are, and it's pissing me off."

James took as much of a step back as he could manage, trying desperately to put some distance between him and Qrow. The man's eyes darkened dangerously as James gave Qrow a second warning physically, pushing his body up more so that he could maintain his physical dominance here.

"Has it ever occurred to you that there might be a reason for that?" James snarled the words, holding nothing back because in that moment all that mattered was that Qrow rolled over and gave him the space that he needed. "Qrow, you seem to think that there's something here."

"Isn't there?" Qrow asked, half-hissing the words at James. "Because the way I saw it, you were attracted to me."

James' eyes widened, and a look of pure worry flashed across his face for just a moment before James re-hardened his expression, trying to hide something that Qrow wasn't quite able to identify. There was a sinking feeling of guilt that began to ball up in Qrow's chest as he came to realize that he may have just made the most serious misstep that he ever had when it came to James.

" Qrow. " James glared at him, like he was about to reach out across the elevator and put a hand around Qrow's throat and squeeze until all the life was gone. James' voice had lost its usual commanding tone, instead it was now replaced with the growl of a penned in animal. "You are going to let me out of this elevator right now."

Shit .

Shit, that should not have been as exciting as it was.

For the first time since this particular conversation had started, Qrow was the one floundering, he was the one trying to figure out what he was supposed to say, or what he was supposed to do. The elevator slowed as it approached its next stop, and the door opened. Qrow didn't even get a chance to move out of the way before he had James' right hand on his chest, pushing him to the side roughly enough that Qrow hit the side of the elevator.

James hit the button to send Qrow up, and Qrow realized quickly that he was probably going to have to wait through another floor on the elevator before he would be able to get off, in which case he was going to be at least two floors away from where he was supposed to be. The door closed, and Qrow was cut off from James again, though this time he had the feeling that there wasn't going to be any warming up again.

He'd just wanted to talk things through.

He'd just wanted for them to be able to exist in the same room without things being so awkward that it made Qrow want to throw up.

And the worst part of it all, was that he had been fixing things, slowly but surely. They'd had the weekend together where they'd enjoyed barbecue and acted like they were simply friends from work- nothing weird, nothing special. Just friends.

And now, that was completely gone. Gone like James was as the elevator moved, rushing up to the next floor of the building on Candle Street with no way of stopping and letting Qrow go. For a moment, Qrow wished that there was a chance that the elevator's cable would snap and he'd be able to drop to silence.

No, Qrow told himself as he patted his pockets in search of his flask so that he could have a drink and hopefully calm himself down. That was a bad train of thought, having a few drinks was a much better one to follow by far. He unscrewed the cap as quickly as he could and brought the flask up to his lips, then drank as deeply from it as he could.

The buzz couldn't hit fast enough. By the time he was stepping off the elevator and onto the fourth floor of the building, there was something beginning to kick in. He frowned and took a quick moment to examine his surroundings. He was going to have to find a way to the stairs, and then he was going to have to probably run down them if he wanted to get to the meeting in time.

Which really sucked, since this was the one time that he'd actually made an effort to get to the meeting on time.

That wasn't even considering the fact that he was probably going to be without a way home or a place to stay that night because of this.

God, he was such an idiot.

Finding his bearings, Qrow turned on his heel and began the walk towards the nearest stairwell. He reached the door, paused, and peered through the door before letting out a low sigh and pushing the door open and beginning the descent down towards the second floor. He was going to have to go through two flights of stairs, and he was more than willing to bet that James had probably already made it back to Roman's apartment.

With every step down the stairwell, Qrow felt his spirits descend further, along with the amount of spirits in his flask. He didn't want to go the the meeting when he was feeling like this.

He wanted to run, and to go to a bar, and to try and drown all of this and get past what had just happened.

But he couldn't do that. He'd made an ass of himself, in a pretty serious manner, and now it was time for him to do his absolute best to fix that. It wasn't going to be fun or comfortable, but he had to make this right.

Which meant that for at least an hour, Qrow Branwen was going to have to remain sober.

Roman finally reached the second floor and began to drag himself through the building, counting the numbers on each door as he passed them until he finally reached Roman's door.

Room 311.

He stopped at the door, inhaled deeply, and knocked at the door.

And then, he had nothing to do but to wait.


	25. The Let Down

James' entire world was a roil of fury and fire.

Getting out of that elevator was mostly what he had needed to be done, getting away from Qrow was what he had needed to be done. Getting to Roman's was what he needed to do now.

But he couldn't bring himself to do that. Not right now, when all he knew was anger.

Qrow had intentionally penned him in, and while James didn't appreciate that whatsoever he wasn't going to let it happen again. James leaned against a wall, and stared at the floor in front of him. He looked down at his hands, which were cyclically relaxing and balling into fists.

James looked at the wall in front of him, and had to fight everything in him to keep himself from punching it so hard that he left a fist-sized hole in the drywall.

How dare Qrow do that?

James raised his hands to his face, covering himself and trying to block out the entire universe around him. This was wrong. This was so, so wrong.

He didn't want to think about what was going to happen. He didn't want to think about how angry he was about the line of questioning that Qrow had decided to go down.

Why did Qrow have to ask him about attraction of all things?

Things had been going so well again, but now, things weren't okay. This was something that James couldn't see getting fixed.

He inhaled deeply.

Exhaled slowly.

Inhale deeply again.

Lather.

Rinse.

Repeat.

James just stood there until he got himself calmed down enough that he could potentially see everyone. He went to the door to the staircase and pressed himself against the wall beside the window to keep himself out of view from anyone that was on the other side. James just watched for when Qrow went down. He was going to go down once Qrow was out of the way.

Being caught alone again with Qrow was the absolute last thing that James needed.

When he saw Qrow go down, James waited. He stood there in the hallway for an extra two or three minutes before going down himself. He was going to have to go to the apartment, and he was going to do his best to take a seat that was as far away from Qrow as possible.

People were going to notice that things were wrong.

He knew it.

Winter had probably already picked up on the fact that he was missing.

And he was going to be late, which meant that everyone else was probably going to start worrying too.

Great.

Absolutely fantastic.

James pushed the door to the stairwell open and began to take the stairs down to the correct floor. He took his time, knowing that if he pushed himself too hard, then his body would start aching and then he wouldn't be able to drive home as safely as he would have liked.

And so he dragged himself down the stairs to the door to Roman's apartment, and instead of knocking and announcing his lateness, James let himself in as quietly as he could.

Inside, the room was almost silent, with Qrow and Roman both missing from the space, and Junior, Glynda, and Winter were in the living room, talking to each other as quietly as they could. When the door opened, all of their eyes turned, and they stared at James.

Shit.

They probably already knew that something had happened.

Winter pulled away from the other two and crossed the room to see James. She stepped up close, and she hugged him as closely as he could. James didn't respond, at least until she said something herself.

"What happened?"

"It's not worth talking about." James answered, pulling himself away from the girl that could have been his daughter gently. He went to the large reclining chair, and he took his seat there, since it was at the very least a guarantee that Qrow couldn't sit next to him.

Junior left the room now, walking off in the direction that James was willing to bet was where Junior and Roman's bedroom was. Glynda looked at James as he settled into his seat and reached into his clothes to find his notebook and paper.

"James." She greeted him.

"Glynda." James opened the book up to an empty sheet, dated it at the top, and ran the side of his hand over the paper to smooth it down. "Is something wrong?"

"I could ask you the same." Glynda answered, leaning against the wall next to where James was sitting. "You and I need to talk about this next job, James."

"Of course." James mumbled. He looked up and his and Glynda's eyes met for just a moment. "Anything for my beautiful wife." The words were sour on his tongue. Wrong. Wholly unpleasant.

"We aren't at work yet, James."

"Sorry." James muttered. "I figured I should get myself back into that habit."

Glynda let a small smile crease her face, and then the door down the hallway opened, with Junior leading the way out with both Roman and Qrow following behind him as quietly as they could. Slowly, the group began to convene, with Roman taking his seat at the front of the room as usual, and Qrow ending up on the loveseat next to Junior, which was odd, if nothing else.

Glynda's hand made its way onto James' left shoulder, and then she pulled away, taking her place on the couch next to Winter. She seated herself there, crossed one leg over the other, and got her tablet out so that she could do her job to the best of the ability.

At the front of the room, Roman was smoothing down his shirt, and getting his easel in line. He looked around it, finding a folder with what James was willing to bet was photos from their little reconnaissance mission.

Roman looked over at James for just a moment before pulling his eyes away, smiling, and opening his mouth so that he could begin this little meeting. Any hesitance and nerves that had been there almost instantaneously disappeared from his features.

With one motion, Roman whipped himself around to face the room, the folder clutched in both of his hands in front of him. "Well," He grinned. "Isn't it great just seeing all of your beautiful faces again. It's been too long, I was starting to miss our little family."

As was normal for them, the entire room groaned when Roman made this particular comment. The redhead frowned, and looked among the room before muttering something that sounded like "tough crowd" under his breath, just loud enough that James was able to make it out.

Roman flipped open the folder that he held in front of him and began to flip through it in search of something for this week's board meeting. "So," Roman began, looking through the contents of the folder with a bored expression on his face. "As most of you should know by now, we have a little adventure to go on next week. And as such, some of us have been doing some training."

He pulled out two photographs of the building that James and Roman had gone to a few days before and attached them to the easel with some tape. "Peacemaker and myself-" Roman's eyes flicked over to James, and James nodded back. "Well, the two of us went on a little reconnaissance mission a few days back, and we got a view of the building." Roman raised an eyebrow at James.

Realizing that he was being handed the spotlight for just a few minutes, James pushed himself up and out of the recliner and crossed the room to the easel. He began to search it over, looking for whether they had a map of the area that they were going to be working in or not.

"Roman do you-"

"Map?" Roman asked, reaching into the folder and passing one to James.

"Thank you.' James unfolded the map quickly and pinned it up for people to see. Roman was scrambling at his side to find something, and soon James was handed the little package of sewing pins that Roman used for these sorts of things.

James shoved a large thumbtack into the map over where the Salem Group headquarters was located. "Our operations will be taking place at 39 West Street, here in Atlas. The area is mostly secure, but it's a business district. Stores, restaurants, and a parking garage a block or two away are all things to be aware of. Because it'll be night when we do the job, we won't have to worry about it being as high traffic as usual- vehicle or otherwise."

He flicked his eyes over to meet Roman's, them having a quick silent conversation before Roman was flicking through the folder in search of something. "Externally, we have to be aware of security cameras all over the place, a large parking lot which will be an important location to note, and the fact that it's urban driving."

Roman pinned up a photograph that had been taken a few days back of the parking lot. Roman smirked, and tapped on it, now taking a chance to speak up about his findings for himself. "Our little parking lot that Peacemaker here mentioned, is pretty big. Probably about eighty spaces, which makes sense. It'd be wise of us all to be aware that it'll be packed when we have our little attack. There's a worker's door not too far off from it, that's what basically everyone but Peacemaker and North should be using when we do this."

James took the reins back now. "Aside from that, there's the front entrance and one in the back that we probably won't need to use. We weren't exactly able to find it."

Roman nodded, and gestured back towards James' seat with a nod of his head. James, understanding, stepped back out of the way and sank back down into the recliner. He watched as Roman pinned up a few more pictures and beckoned Junior up to the front of the room.

It almost felt like a bad show and tell, except with people that were approaching their respective midlife crises.

Junior didn't bother to stand up, as he was usually able to command attention by just being there. "I've been able to take a look inside of the building," Junior began, crossing one leg over the other at the ankle. "The floor that we'll be working on is pretty straightforward. The bar's easily accessible, the coat room's near the front of the building where people come in, and that's about all we'll have people installed in. Beyond that, I'll have to handle the behind the scenes."

"How is it looking?" Glynda asked, her voice serious. "I'm sure that there's plenty to worry about-"

"Since I'll be playing security," Junior began his answer. "I'll be having to make regular rounds of the building anyways, which will bring me through multiple floors of the building. I've trained Scarecrow on bar so that he can play his part convincingly-" Junior looked at James now. "Peacemaker, you and I have work to do."

"We do." James affirmed with a nod, scratching down a note to set time aside for him and Junior to start their little training sessions together. "We'll discuss a date and time after the meeting."

"Thank you."

With that matter settled, Junior began to give his overview of what he'd learned about the building so far. He didn't need to go into the same nitty gritty that everyone else did. When the job had been arranged, it had been done with the full awareness that Junior was going to ultimately be the one that saw the most of the building unless something went wrong.

James didn't listen too closely, instead he was trying to pick through his brain to pick out what it was going to be that he needed to do in his role. He'd been given a weird role in this job, quietly calling the shots so that everyone else would be able to make it in and out of things safely.

At least, that was assuming that they weren't going to be caught on cameras during the job. There was still the rumor that said that Ozpin was going to be at the event, but James still doubted that he believed it.

He didn't want to believe in ghosts, not really.

Junior stood up at the front, talking for several minutes before going and rejoining Qrow on the loveseat where he'd been sitting before he was called up to speak. Roman took the command of the room again, and everyone's eyes were absolutely glued to him as he put himself at the front.

Roman was about to open his mouth to say something, but before he could say anything, Glynda stood up, crossing the room from her place on the couch. The blonde arranged herself at the front in everyone's line of sight, and Roman raised a brow for just a moment before conceding the floor to the blonde woman.

"As you all know-" Glynda began. "In our last meeting, we announced that Ozpin was going to be at this job, though we won't know where." Her eyes fell on James, and James felt his entire body stiffen as he realized that she was silently judging him based on what had happened at the last meeting. "And we've recently heard from them again regarding the job."

The room was completely silent, and Glynda was at liberty to speak for as long as she needed. Everyone wanted to know what this job was supposed to look like, especially if there was going to be an unknown factor involved.

"As far as I've been informed, Ozpin will be at the bar for part of the night, though they haven't said what other roles they'll be playing over the course of the evening." She pushed her glasses up with two fingers. "As such, you should all be prepared to be approached by a stranger in case Ozpin decides that they want your aid."

James grit his teeth, wondering whether he was going to have to confront the fact that the person that had bought him a car was going to be there. The same person that had re-equipped him with his old sidearm.

The same person that he could very easily blame for halving him.

And he didn't even know what this person looked like, and that perhaps was the scariest part of all. He wasn't going to be able to keep track of this job as easily as he would have liked, even if his main role was going to be one of the information runners.

Glynda stepped aside, giving the floor back to Roman. "I'm sure that there's something you wanted to say?"

"That would be correct." Roman proclaimed, strutting up into the main view of everyone once again. "Everyone, you're going need to be able to play your parts, but you're also going to need to look your parts. Peacemaker, North, I'm sure you two are ready to play the Robinsons. Qrow, you'll need a bar uniform. I've got what I'll need to wear, as does Junior."

A hand waved in the air, and everyone turned their heads to stare at who it belonged to.

On the couch, Winter was sitting there, with her long white hair tied up into a bun to make it look like she was a miniature Glynda. The girl began to lower her hand slowly, realizing the gravity of the situation and looked around the room.

Roman opened his mouth to talk now. "What's wrong, snowflake?"

"I-" Winter opened her mouth, then closed it again and swallowed. James already knew what the girl was going to ask the room, and he was worried about it for a moment. Technically, he shouldn't have brought Winter to this meeting, but the girl had messaged him insisting on being brought to the meeting.

James couldn't say no to her. He never could, not really.

Winter swallowed, and she shot him a look from where she was sitting on the couch. James didn't say anything, only nodded in her direction to give her the encouragement to keep going. Finally, feeling ready, Winter began to talk.

"I want to be on this job." Winter announced, standing up in her seat. She looked around the room, and Winter looked like she was either ready to fight or run. She swallowed, and then began to explain herself. "I've found out that my mother and father will be attending the Salem Group Charity Ball, and I've been given permission to come along for it along with them and play the trophy child." There was an unspoken because Weiss isn't old enough.

Roman opened his mouth to say something, but only ended up shooting Glynda a look, like he didn't even know how he was supposed to navigate this. Glynda stood up with her tablet, and walked into another room, leaving them all alone with Winter for a few minutes.

"Please," Winter pleaded. "I'm going to be there anyways, let me be a part of this."

James leaned forward, rested his elbows on his knees, and clutched his hands together in front of him. Quietly, James spoke up to get Winter's attention. "Winter," he began. "Let Glynda make her contact, and then you'll have an answer."

Roman met James' eyes. "You support this?"

"I do." James answered. He didn't say why, he didn't say that it was because he knew that Winter wanted a chance to prove herself, he didn't say that it was because it meant that he was going to have a chance to keep an eye on her when her father was around. He didn't even say that Winter had called him specifically so that she could pitch herself to the room. "I support Winter completely in this matter."

They must have sat there for six or seven minutes, the entire room mostly silent as everyone tried to figure out what they wanted to do about Winter's request.

In the end, it all fell in Glynda's hands.

Glynda came in, turning off her tablet, and looked amongst the room. She sighed deeply, pushed her glasses up her face with two fingers, and opened her mouth to speak.

There wasn't a single pair of eyes that wasn't on her.

"I've spoken with Ozpin regarding this matter." Glynda announced, striding across the room to go back to the couch. She seated herself there, crossed one leg over the other, and smoothed down her skirt.

"And?" Winter asked, sounding like she was both nervous and excited about whatever the verdict would be.

"They have approved Winter's presence on this job." Glynda's eyes met Roman's. "Though some details will need to be worked out, she'll be there."

"Thank you." Winter said, and it was like all of the tension had just flowed out of her body. She stood up tall, held her head high, and for just a moment, Winter looked like she was ready to be a leader.

Deep down, James was proud of her, if a bit nervous.

Roman nodded, stepped forward, and looked between Glynda and Winter. "You know, you'll probably end up in a similar role to Peacemaker on this job." He began, "However, because you're going to be there with your family, things will have to be done in a more... secretive manner."

"Of course." Winter said, confirming that she understood. She blinked, and then looked throughout the room. "I won't let any of you down. I promise."

"Well then." Roman said, sucking in his cheeks like he was trying to figure out exactly what he was supposed to say to Winter, or to anyone else. "Since this has taken a bit of an... unexpected turn, I think it's best that we call this meeting over, and we'll be back to meetings in a few days."

There was a quiet titter throughout the room as everyone agreed to that. James didn't say anything, instead he just got up, folded his notebook, and pocketed it. He wanted to go, but since he was Winter's ride, he couldn't do so immediately.

He did however, have time to go for a walk while Winter spoke to Glynda and Roman about the job.

James shoved his hands deep into his pockets, and was on the way out when his and Qrow's eyes met, if only for just a second. He looked away immediately, fearing the ball of anger that was trying to build up in his chest. If there was anywhere that James didn't want to be, it was in Qrow's presence in this time.

He stepped out of the apartment, and leaned against the wall just outside, just like he had at the last meeting here. It was important to him that he spoke to Junior at some point, and he was going to have to be able to drive Winter home once this was done.

The apartment door opened, and Junior stepped out to meet James' eyes almost immediately. The man closed the door behind him, and gestured over towards the elevator with his chin, silently asking James to join him.

James pushed off the wall and followed after Junior, neither of them really wanting to speak to each other just yet. Together they stepped into the elevator, and James didn't go to the same corner that he always did. Instead, he just stopped right in front of the door and stared at it.

The elevator door closed, and Junior finally spoke up. "Qrow told us."

"I'd expect that." James muttered back. "Look I don't..."

"Are you okay?"

That was just the real question, wasn't it? James frowned, trying to figure out whether there was actually a good way to answer that. He could say that he was okay, but there were few things that were keeping him from saying so for sure.

Mostly, he was just angry.

He sighed and shook his head, careful to pull his eyes away from the larger man. "I don't know." He finally answered. "How much did he tell you?"

"That you got in a fight in the elevator." Junior answered, leaning back against the wall. "Not much more than that. He seemed pretty upset.

"I'd expect that." James mumbled. "I don't want to work with him anymore, Junior."

"James." Junior said, his voice truly insistent for the first time. "What's going on?"

The elevator door opened, and James stepped outside of it, already making a beeline for the door so that he could leave the building and go out to the lawn instead. He sucked in on his cheek, and had to resist the temptation to chew at the inside of it out of pure frustration.

Junior was just bringing all of the questions that James didn't know how to answer. And considering what was going on with Qrow being so odd, he was just left completely lost. He opened his mouth to say something, only an "I-" making the way out before he closed back up again with the shake of his head.

There really was no way to explain himself here, was there?

"Jim?"

"When you and Roman-"

"James?"

James shook his head a second time, pushed the door open, and stepped outside of the building and down the small flight of stairs that led to the parking lot. Junior followed closely after him. "James, talk to me-"

As he got close to his car and stopped. James let his eyes squeeze shut.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale again.

"Junior," James managed. "When you and Roman got together... did it make sense to you?"

"What's happening?"

"I don't know." James growled. "I really don't know. Junior he keeps on just doing these things and none of them make sense."

"James?" Junior's voice was deeply worried. "James you need to-"

"Look," James reached into his pocket to find his car keys, and he unlocked his car with a quiet chirping sound. There was a thudlike sound as the car unlocked fully and pulled the door to the driver's seat open. "Ask him, it'll work better. I... I just want to wait out here. Could you send Winter down when you're done?"

Junior's expression saddened, and he sighed. There was a quiet moment where he inhaled before letting out a quiet "Okay."

"Thank you."

Junior left.

James was alone.

His world was a roil of fury and fire.

He wanted nobody else to live in it.


	26. Secret Recipe

"Are you sure you want to stay here tonight?" Junior was grabbing a set of keys out of a small dish, sounding like he was far away. He set the keys down on the counter, and then Roman came in, sliding on a fashionable jacket and smiling widely. "Because the girls are going to be here."

"Yeah." Qrow said. He was leaning against a wall in the kitchen, watching as Junior navigated the cramped kitchen. "I've got nieces their ages, I don't mind."

Roman picked up the set of keys and slid them into his pocket, stepped up on the tips of his toes and into Junior's space to plant a kiss on the taller man's jaw. Junior turned his head to return the kiss, and then Roman was out the door, leaving Qrow and Junior alone.

Junior opened the fridge, reached in, and began to look for something that he could make for dinner. He was too quiet, and it made something unpleasant begin to churn in his stomach. He knew that Junior had talked to James at some point.

But he didn't know whether or not James had said anything to him. Whether or not Junior knew how badly Qrow had stepped out of line, and for the second time, no less.

Qrow sighed, reached up and pushed his hair out of his face. Junior was opening a package of chicken and getting out a cutting board. The man heard Qrow, turned his head, and looked at him. "Hey." Junior greeted Qrow, though the voice that came through was stunted and very obviously bothered.

"Hey." Qrow said back. "I... uh, thanks for the lessons the other day."

"No problem." Junior answered. "I uh, I take pride in my business."

"You should." Qrow answered. "I hope Raven-"

"She's no problem, Qrow." Junior sighed, reaching over to his knife rack to remove a large one. Qrow watched the man fumble about to find a sharpener in the back, and watched as Junior began to sharpen the knife slowly. "And if she was, I wouldn't let her go unless she was stealing from the business. She's good, just needs someone that can help look out for her that she won't try to push away."

It worried Qrow, hearing that from Junior. He didn't know whether Junior was judging him or not for not being there for Raven more often. But the issue was that she wouldn't let him be there to look out for her. But at the same time, hearing those words from Junior came as a small relief.

Raven was being looked out for, by someone that just wanted to help. Someone that she hadn't found a reason to chase away yet.

There was a clapping sound when Junior cut into the chicken for the first time with a hard chop. Qrow looked up immediately at the sound to watch Junior cook. He didn't know whether he should have done or said anything to the man. since it was so awkward sitting there.

Junior was the first to break through the quiet.

"You know, Qrow-" Junior began. "You picked things up behind the bar decently fast. If you wanted to I could bring you on in a more full-time position."

"Junior?" Qrow's brow furrowed, he didn't know where any of this case coming from, and there was a part of him that wasn't even sure whether he wanted to know where this was all coming from. He didn't know Junior that well, his main exposure to the man was just on the nights where he needed a place to crash before he would be able to make it back to Vale.

"I mean it." Junior offered. "On weekends, I could almost always use more hands at the bar. There are always a lot of people that work there, but not all of them would be any good on bar. Not charismatic enough, bad with math, that sort of thing."

"Junior, I don't-"

"Qrow." Junior half-chuckled. "I've kind of gathered what things are like for you at home. If you need help, don't be afraid to ask about it. I'm offering you a chance to get off of your family's couch in a way that looks legitimate."

"I want to say yes, Junior." Qrow said, trying hard to just clarify his thoughts to himself before he tried to justify them to anyone else. "But are you sure that you want to do this?"

"I want to be sure that a friend of mine is taken care of." Junior clarified. "That's all I want."

"Can I think on it?"

"You can sleep on it on my couch." Junior chuckled. "Look, take your time. If you want it, just say the word. If not, then I wish you luck."

Qrow watched as Junior got out a large pan unlike anything that they had back in Vale. He watched the man slowly put it on heat, and soon realized that it looked like Junior was going to be making some sort of stir fry for the family and Qrow that night.

He pulled his eyes away from Junior, not wanting to make the other man feel too self conscious. Instead, Qrow peered over in the direction of the window, and he wondered for a moment whether he was going to be able to start putting things back together.

Whether it was even possible to do that at this point in his life.

He scratched at the side of his head, and reached for his pockets, looking for his flask as though he would be able to gain some sort of liquid comfort from it.

And oh, how he needed it right now. Qrow found the flask, and pulled it out of his pocket, giving it a quick wiggle to see whether there was anything inside.

To his pleasure, there was a quiet sloshing sound inside, but Junior was quick to interrupt Qrow's thoughts.

"Qrow." Junior started. "Please, not tonight. Roman's getting the kids, and we'd rather-"

"Oh." Qrow put the flask back away, and hoped silently that he wouldn't find himself dipping into its contents sometime around the time that everyone went to bed for the night. "Yeah, of course. No problem."

"Thank you." Junior answered. "Look, Qrow..."

"Yeah?"

Junior sighed heavily, looking for his words, and Qrow got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that told him that he probably had getting interrogated about earlier that day to look forward to. Qrow watched the large man's expressions, worried about whatever would be coming out of Junior's mouth.

Finally, Junior spoke.

"Qrow, what's going on with James?" Junior asked, his voice sounding almost sad. "There was all that business earlier, and when I asked him about it, he wasn't really willing to talk to me about it."

"Why-"

"Because I consider you my friends." Junior said, stopping Qrow before he could even finish his question. Qrow opened his mouth to say something, only to be stopped by a raise of Junior's hand. "Look, if something's really wrong, it compromises the rest of us. If you two can't keep things straight on the job-"

For some reason, that particular wording was enough to make Qrow's stomach churn. Keeping things straight both was and wasn't the issue, wasn't it?

"Look," Qrow started, making sure to look away from Junior again, though this time it was defensive. "I did something I shouldn't have, and then I did another thing that I shouldn't have, and now I think he's just trying to punish me for that."

That made the room go silent, and Qrow watched Junior's expressions as the man tried to piece together what Qrow actually meant by that. As though anyone would be able to put it together based on that alone.

"Qrow?"

Qrow shook his head, and his dark hair flopped into his eyes. He frowned, reached up, and pushed it back out of the way so taht he could at least feel somewhat comfortable while he was there. "Look, I don't think he's forgiving me, that's all there is."

"James-" Junior started, and stopped again. "James doesn't just not forgive, Qrow. What did you do?"

"I may have kissed him."

"You-" Pause. "You did what?"

"That's it." Qrow answered. "And I tried to fix things, and then I fucked up again and-" He shook his head, which only made his dark hair fall back loose again, much to Qrow's displeasure. "Look, don't tell anyone?"

Junior exhaled, his cheeks puffing out as he did so, and his eyes went wide for just a moment as he tried to process what was going on. "Yeah, I won't tell." He finally said, much to Qrow's relief. "Look... you know he's got a lot going on right now. I don't think that even if he wasn't straight-"

Shit, that was just about the confirmation, wasn't it?

"-I don't think this would even be a good time to be thinking about that stuff anyways, Qrow." Junior finished. "And James knows that. The guy's trying to keep his priorities in check."

"What makes you so confident in saying all of this?"

"James is my friend." Junior answered. "And I've known him for years."

"Can you ta-"

The door opened, and a short girl with hair with long hair that looked like it had been dyed partially pink with a temporary dye came in. The girl stopped at the edge of the kitchen, stared up at Qrow, and then looked at Junior.

"Hey sweetheart." Junior said.

Qrow looked down at the girl. She couldn't have been any more than Ruby's age, he realized almost immediately. There was the sound of two more pairs of feet coming in, and the sound of the door closing and Roman's voice.

"We're back, Baby Bear." Roman called.

Well, Qrow thought, that at least explained that terrible nickname.

"Welcome home." Junior said as the two other girls came to the edge of the kitchen to greet their father. Qrow watched Junior looked between the three girls, and sigh, like he'd just been melted with a look. "Hey girls."

"Hi Dad." The twins greeted him in almost perfect unison, and Neo offered him a tiny wave. Junior looked at Qrow, then to the girls again.

"This is Qrow." Junior introduced them. "He's going to be joining us for dinner, so be nice."

The three girls all exchanged a look, a silent conversation happening between them, and then the smallest one let a wide grin split her face. She reached out, offered her hand to Junior, and waited.

Junior sighed, set down his cooking utensils, and went to the fridge, getting a jar down from on top of it before opening it up and holding it out for the girls to take from.

Each girl took two cookies, and then the twin in the blue spoke up. "We'll be good." She said, and then the three girls left the kitchen, with cookies in hand.

Roman came in, slipped up alongside Junior and took a cookie for himself before looking over at Qrow. "Want one?" The redhead offered. "They're pretty good. Mama Xiong's secret recipe."

"Sure." Qrow chuckled, taking the first cookie he was offered. He looked up at Junior and raised an eyebrow. "Did you just get extorted by a five year old?"

"She's six." Roman chuckled. "She just takes after me."

Junior shook his head, storing the cookies back away out of reach. "That's not a good thing, Ro."

"You love it."

Qrow leaned back against the counter and watched as Roman and Junior bickered like a married couple for a moment. It was weird, Qrow realized. He was so used to seeing these two at work that seeing them being so domestic almost felt alien.

For a moment, Qrow missed his nieces.

Roman relaxed back against the counter once he was content. His green eyes slid between Junior and Qrow a few times, like he was trying to figure out what had been going on, but then he just sighed heavily, pushing his red hair back out of his face. "Quite a day, right?" He asked, smiling sweetly down at the floor.

"Yeah." Qrow answered, feeling his jaw tighten up for just a moment with the word. "I'm honestly probably going to eat and then I'm going to be ready to crash."

Junior hummed from his place in front of the stove, and didn't bother to look back at Roman and Qrow. He was too focused on making dinner for them instead of having a conversation at that point, and Qrow honestly couldn't blame the guy. Once the kids got home, it had a habit to change how everyone did things back at the house in Vale too.

There was a moment of quiet, and then Roman pushed back off of the counter to plant another kiss on Junior's jaw. "I'm going to go watch the girls." Roman announced. "Just yell when dinner's ready?"

"I always do." Junior mumbled, smiling as he stirred the mixture of vegetables and meat that were in his pan in front of him. Roman stepped out of the room, and Junior refocused on Qrow again. This time, he kept his voice low when he spoke to Qrow one on one. "Are you going to be okay, Qrow?"

"I don't know." Qrow admitted. "I hope so. I don't think there'll be anything wrong when-"

"Everyone's pretty separate." Junior said, cutting Qrow off. "I doubt it'll be a problem until after."

Qrow nodded, feeling a little bit sick to his stomach the more that the thought of what had happened that day in the elevator weighed on his mind. Without really thinking about it, Qrow reached into his pocket, found his phone, and went to his messages with James, as sparse as they were. Everything that had been said between them through phone had either been on calls or they'd been simple things like James announcing that he was on his way to pick Qrow up.

He stared down at the message box, and seriously considered writing something there. Seriously considered the possibility that James would be there on the other side, watching for the three little dots that would announce that Qrow was typing something. But at the same time, Qrow also expected that he could just end up sending a message to a number that had blocked his, and that really wasn't something that was nice to think about."

"Qrow."

He could just-

"Qrow?"

All he had to do was write two words-

"Qrow." Junior's voice was insistent, and this time Qrow actually managed to break out of the haze that was filling his mind and was keeping him from concentrating on much of anything. Qrow looked up at the larger man, who was spooning the stir fry into a large bowl for the entire family to take from. "Qrow, don't text him." A sigh. "If you did do what you did, what he needs right now is space."

"I'm not going to." Qrow answered.

Frowned at the phone as he shoved it back into the pocket.

Missed the light of the three little dots that would tell him that James was typing something just as it slid down into his pocket.

He crossed his arms over his chest and just waited until there was something to do, which thankfully didn't take too long. Once Junior was done getting dinner ready, he locked eyes with Qrow, and then nodded out towards the living room. "Go get them?" Junior asked quietly, to which Qrow nodded.

The thin man stepped out of the kitchen and began to walk down towards the living room, where Roman was currently sitting, with his laptop on the coffee table in front of him. There wasn't any sign of the girls to be found.

Roman noticed Qrow's presence almost immediately, and looked up at him before flashing a quick smile. "Hey there, loverboy." He said, grinning. "Did my charming fiance send you to get me?"

"He did." Qrow answered, reaching up to scratch at some of the stubble that covered his jaw. "And the girls but I-"

"I can get them." Roman offered, standing up, smoothing down his clothes, and then closing his laptop before heading down a hallway that looked like it held two small bedrooms. Qrow was willing to bet that the twins had bunk beds.

Qrow waited, and listened for the sound of Roman talking to the girls and laughing. It was soon followed by three pairs of small feet coming down the hallway, and the sound of a door closing behind those three feet, followed by one larger pair of feet coming back down the hallway.

Realizing that there was a child stampede coming, Qrow stepped away from the hallway, and sure enough the three girls came half-running down it. In the lead, was Melanie, with her black hair tied up into a ponytail with a scrunchy, following after was Neo, bouncing along happily, and lastly was Militiades.

Militades stopped next to Qrow, looked up at him and opened her mouth to say something, but didn't get a chance to when Roman piped out.

"Mili!" Roman called. "Table."

The tiny girl shot Qrow a look before going to the dining room and taking a seat at the table, across from her twin near the far end of the table. Roman settled into one of the end seats, and smiled, with Neo settling in at his right. Qrow took the empty space at Roman's left, which left him with tiny Neo staring across the table at him, and Melanie at his side.

Junior came in, delivering the food over top of Melanie's head and then finally settled into the one remaining seat, directly across from Roman's. Junior being seated seemed to be the cue to everyone in this little family that it was time to eat, since Neo was already half-standing up in her seat to try and reach the food.

Roman drummed his fingers against the table, waiting for Junior to finish putting food on the twin's plates, and then looked at Qrow. "Want some wine?" He offered, sliding out of his seat. "I think we've got some zinfandel-"

"I've been put on strict orders not to." Qrow answered, looking back over at Junior for just a moment. "So I'm afraid not."

Roman nodded, and slipped out of the living room, which left Qrow with Neo staring at him. She looked like she was trying to silently threaten him, but was shaken out of it by the sound of Junior's voice, and a full plate of food being offered to her.

Neo took the plate and set it down in front of her as quietly as she could before looking back up from it and grinning at Qrow.

She picked up her fork.

Stabbed a piece of chicken, probably a little more violently than she should have.

Qrow was secretly very glad that none of his nieces were this creepy.

Roman came back in, carrying a glass of wine in his right hand and seated himself back next to Qrow, almost immediately crossing one leg over the other as he set the glass down next to his plate. He looked at Qrow, then at Neo, and raised an eyebrow,

Qrow filled his own plate of food now, and began to eat. He didn't know what he was supposed to say or do, but then one of the twins- Melanie, he thought, began talking to Junior about what they'd done that day at their grandmother's.

As it turned out, all three girls were getting lessons in culture from Junior's mother, who sounded like she was an absolutely charming woman.

Qrow listened along happily, and found himself silently wondering whether it would be possible to get Roman and Junior to agree to setting up a playdate with Ruby and Yang. He tried not to think about whether or not he'd be able to get James to agree to bringing along Penny.

There it was, that sinking feeling in his stomach that made Qrow want to get a drink so badly. His eyes slid over to the glass of wine that Roman was balancing between two fingers and his thumb just in front of his face at the moment.

No, Qrow told himself.

He couldn't hit the bottle when he was staying there, not when Junior had offered him a possible job in the near future. The absolute last thing that Qrow wanted to do at this point was to mess up and blow that all at once.

He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

Qrow didn't pick it up, out of fear of who it would be.

Raven, wanting something.

James, angry.

Summer, worrying.

Taiyang, asking questions.

None of them were good options. None were good possibilities.

The family ate, and Qrow made an effort to just stay out of things. He had the feeling that Roman and Junior didn't get many nights home alone with their daughters, and he actually felt bad for having the nerve to intrude on that.

So Qrow just stayed out of the way most of the night. The girls were put to bed late that night, then Junior and Roman went to bed together a few hours later, leaving Qrow to once again sleep on a couch.

When he laid down, he didn't bother to check his phone.

He crossed his arms over his chest and just waited until there was something to do, which thankfully didn't take too long. Once Junior was done getting dinner ready, he locked eyes with Qrow, and then nodded out towards the living room. "Go get them?" Junior asked quietly, to which Qrow nodded.

The thin man stepped out of the kitchen and began to walk down towards the living room, where Roman was currently sitting, with his laptop on the coffee table in front of him. There wasn't any sign of the girls to be found.

Roman noticed Qrow's presence almost immediately, and looked up at him before flashing a quick smile. "Hey there, loverboy." He said, grinning. "Did my charming fiance send you to get me?"

"He did." Qrow answered, reaching up to scratch at some of the stubble that covered his jaw. "And the girls but I-"

"I can get them." Roman offered, standing up, smoothing down his clothes, and then closing his laptop before heading down a hallway that looked like it held two small bedrooms. Qrow was willing to bet that the twins had bunk beds.

Qrow waited, and listened for the sound of Roman talking to the girls and laughing. It was soon followed by three pairs of small feet coming down the hallway, and the sound of a door closing behind those three feet, followed by one larger pair of feet coming back down the hallway.

Realizing that there was a child stampede coming, Qrow stepped away from the hallway, and sure enough the three girls came half-running down it. In the lead, was Melanie, with her black hair tied up into a ponytail with a scrunchy, following after was Neo, bouncing along happily, and lastly was Militiades.

Militades stopped next to Qrow, looked up at him and opened her mouth to say something, but didn't get a chance to when Roman piped out.

"Mili!" Roman called. "Table."

The tiny girl shot Qrow a look before going to the dining room and taking a seat at the table, across from her twin near the far end of the table. Roman settled into one of the end seats, and smiled, with Neo settling in at his right. Qrow took the empty space at Roman's left, which left him with tiny Neo staring across the table at him, and Melanie at his side.

Junior came in, delivering the food over top of Melanie's head and then finally settled into the one remaining seat, directly across from Roman's. Junior being seated seemed to be the cue to everyone in this little family that it was time to eat, since Neo was already half-standing up in her seat to try and reach the food.

Roman drummed his fingers against the table, waiting for Junior to finish putting food on the twin's plates, and then looked at Qrow. "Want some wine?" He offered, sliding out of his seat. "I think we've got some zinfandel-"

"I've been put on strict orders not to." Qrow answered, looking back over at Junior for just a moment. "So I'm afraid not."

Roman nodded, and slipped out of the living room, which left Qrow with Neo staring at him. She looked like she was trying to silently threaten him, but was shaken out of it by the sound of Junior's voice, and a full plate of food being offered to her.

The girl took the plate and set it down in front of her as quietly as she could before looking back up from it and grinning at Qrow.

She picked up her fork.

Stabbed a piece of chicken, probably a little more violently than she should have.

Qrow was secretly very glad that none of his nieces were this creepy.

Roman came back in, carrying a glass of wine in his right hand and seated himself back next to Qrow, almost immediately crossing one leg over the other as he set the glass down next to his plate. He looked at Qrow, then at Neo, and raised an eyebrow,

Qrow filled his own plate of food now, and began to eat. He didn't know what he was supposed to say or do, but then one of the twins- Melanie, he thought, began talking to Junior about what they'd done that day at their grandmother's.

As it turned out, all three girls were getting lessons in culture from Junior's mother, who sounded like she was an absolutely charming woman.

Qrow listened along happily, and found himself silently wondering whether it would be possible to get Roman and Junior to agree to setting up a playdate with Ruby and Yang. He tried not to think about whether or not he'd be able to get James to agree to bringing along Penny.

There it was, that sinking feeling in his stomach that made Qrow want to get a drink so badly. His eyes slid over to the glass of wine that Roman was balancing between two fingers and his thumb just in front of his face at the moment.

No, Qrow told himself.

He couldn't hit the bottle when he was staying there, not when Junior had offered him a possible job in the near future. The absolute last thing that Qrow wanted to do at this point was to mess up and blow that all at once.

He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

Qrow didn't pick it up, out of fear of who it would be.

Raven, wanting something.

James, angry.

Summer, worrying.

Taiyang, asking questions.

None of them were good options. None were good possibilities.

The family ate, and Qrow made an effort to just stay out of things. He had the feeling that Roman and Junior didn't get many nights home alone with their daughters, and he actually felt bad for having the nerve to intrude on that.

So Qrow just stayed out of the way most of the night. The girls were put to bed late that night, then Junior and Roman went to bed together a few hours later, leaving Qrow to once again sleep on a couch.

When he laid down, he didn't bother to check his phone.


	27. Storm

Winter sat at the counter in James' house, with her arms folded on the polished white marble in front of her. She was watching silently as James moved about the kitchen, trying to make sure that the two of them would have something to eat that night.

It had been quite a while since Winter had last been in James' house.

Once upon a time, she'd slept there almost every night.

James, on the other hand, was moving from the stove top to the spot where he'd plugged his phone in on an almost constant circuit. Having the phone there so close was nerve wracking, and almost every time that James picked it up, he'd manage to write half of a poorly thought out message to Qrow before deleting it all again.

Even hours after what had happened, James was still furious about what had happened in the elevator with Qrow.

There was a large part of him that felt almost violated, despite the fact that there'd been no physical contact. And what made it worse was that he was now currently bouncing between trying to make reparations with Qrow, not that he'd ever know why he wanted to fix things. The other option was telling Qrow in rather blunt terms that James didn't him in his life anymore.

Neither option was exactly optimal.

The fact that he was also trying to hold himself together because Winter was there (he'd offered the girl dinner earlier that day) didn't help. It just left James floundering as he tried to figure out exactly what he wanted to do or say to Qrow, all without tipping Winter off to what was going on- not that it was easy.

Winter was smart, she was observant, and she had probably already put some parts of the equation together on her own.

Without even needing to see James like this.

"James?" Winter spoke up, as James once again bent over his phone, once again trying his hand at getting a message out to Qrow. "Are you-"

James sighed, knowing the next word that was going to leave her lips. It was all anyone seemed to ask him these days.

"Just distracted, I"m afraid." James said, smiling weakly at the girl over his shoulder. "It's been a stressful day for all of us."

She opened her mouth like she wanted to say something, and there was something in her blue eyes that resembled hurt that broke James' heart. He wasn't lying to her, James reminded himself. He just had to tell her an edited version of the truth for the sake of keeping the girl from worrying. No matter how he looked at her, every time James did, he still saw a child.

He couldn't hurt her, not when he considered her a daughter to him.

He was a father.

He could never hurt Winter or Penny.

Regardless of blood relations.

He loved them both too much.

The girl looked away from him, like she'd realized exactly what sort of angle he was playing and sighed. If he looked back over his shoulder, he would have seen that she'd ended up resting her chin on her fist, with her brow furrowed and her cheeks slightly puffed out in frustration.

James sighed. "I'm glad that you asked me to bring you to the meeting today, Winter." He said, keeping his voice low. He turned slightly to look back at the girl, and even smiled at her gently. "I know you weren't happy when you were told that you'd have to sit this one out."

Winter perked up slightly. "I mean, the reason for it was pretty dumb." She said, dropping her fist back to the table. She let it knock against the countertop, creating a knocking sound. "And since my parents will be there-"

"Winter," James said, his tone turning serious. "You do know that you're going to have to take a lower profile than usual because they're going to be there, right?"

"Of course, James." She answered. "And I am ready to do that, I mean it. I know that my father's not the... kindest, but I expect that I'll be ignored enough to be able to do my part of the job too."

And oh, how those words hurt.

James went to a small pantry above the counter, opened it up, and found a small package of candy that he'd bought for Penny one of the last times that she'd been over. He set the packet down in front of Winter, silently offering it to her. "Do you know how your brother and sister are doing?"

"They're... well." Winter said, though she hesitated a long moment before she managed to say something. "I get to pick Weiss up from school once in awhile, but that's about it these days." The girl sounded sad, and James couldn't have blamed her for it.

"I'm sorry." James said, locking eyes with Winter. "I don't get to see Penny as often anymore as I used to anymore."

"Is she okay?"

"I think she is." James said, sighing. "It's hard because I used to have her around all the time, and now the house is almost always quiet. When Laurel moved out to Vale with her-"

"I think I understand." Winter said, looking down at the plastic bag of candy that was in front of her on the counter.

James felt a pang in his chest at the realization that Winter probably did have a good idea of what James was dealing with, despite her age. She knew what it was like to be pulled away from family, to lose contact with the people that she loved the most.

She shouldn't have had to feel any of that.

A timer went off behind James, letting him know that the food was about finished cooking. He looked back over his shoulder to the oven, and frowned before turning around and going to it. James went to the oven, pulled the door open, and reached in so that he could remove the sheet of breaded chicken that he'd put in when he'd got home.

James set the large cooking sheet down on the counter top and looked back at Winter over his shoulder. "Do you mind getting some plates?" He asked. The girl whined quietly, something that he suspected she was putting on for his sake. Winter slipped down from her seat and walked around to join James in the kitchen.

"Do you think this job will go well?" Winter asked. "It's only a week off and..."

"It doesn't feel like anything's ready." James spoke up, half answering her question and half finishing her sentence. "I'm worried about it. Junior's good at what he can do, but I don't know about how well he can break into a safe."

"Would you feel better if you were the one breaking into the safe?" Winter asked, setting two plates out side by side in front of her.

James chuckled. "Well, I used to design them, Winter." He said, grabbing a spatula so that he could at least get the chicken loosened away from the cooking sheet underneath. When there wasn't any sign that it was sticking, he was relieved. "But my main concern is that if he takes too long, then it'll compromise the entire mission."

"Do you think everyone else can do their parts?"

"Of course." James said. "For the most part. I wouldn't trust Qrow behind a bar, and I'm not entirely sure how much I'd trust Roman with people's belongings even on a good day."

"And Glynda?"

And oh, that was a sore subject really. It was a question of whether James and Glynda would be able to get along well enough to make things go off without a hitch.

James sighed heavily, and looked back at Winter with an almost sad look on his face. "I... It depends on us, I think." He explained. "Glynda and I can only do so much close contact before we want to fight."

Winter nodded, the clear sign that she was at least trying to understand what was going on. Like she was trying to understand how this job was supposed to go. The girl turned to face James partially, then brought her voice up just enough to catch his attention. "Do you want water?"

"I do." James answered as he began to arrange two plates of food for himself and Winter. "Thank you, Winter."

"You're welcome." The girl said as she stood up on her toes and began to get down two empty glasses for them to use. James picked up the two plates and brought them to the counter, carefully edging past Winter so that he wouldn't end up bumping into her and making a mess.

The two plates were set out at the counter, one in front of the seat that Winter had been using, and the other at a seat just beside it that James was going to use. James was winding back around the counter so that he could get the two of them some silverware when Winter left the kitchen, setting the two glasses of water down next to the plates before taking her seat.

James grabbed everything else that he thought they'd need. Two sets of forks, two sets of knives and set them down on the counter before walking around the other side to take his seat. Carefully, he slid up into his seat in a way that wouldn't jostle his hips too much.

Winter took half of the silverware for herself then looked over at James. "Thank you." She whispered, just loud enough for him to hear. "For everything."

Her words earned a shake of James' head as he picked up his own silverware, cutting into his chicken for the first time that night. "You don't have anything to thank me for, Winter." James was quiet, not wanting to ruin the moment at all. "I'm happy to be here for you. You're a lovely young woman, and it's a damn shame that Jac- your father doesn't see that."

He let his eyes flick over to Winter's for just a moment, where he saw her expression change in shock. Like he'd just seriously misstepped in ways that he couldn't even comprehend.

For a moment, James felt a panic build up in the chest.

It had been close to a year since the two of them had last been able to spend any time like this.

Had more things changed over the course of the last year that he didn't know about?

For good?

For worse?

James pulled his eyes away from Winter, him realizing that whatever was coming probably was something that he didn't want to have to predict. He picked up the piece of chicken that he'd cut for himself and brought it up to his mouth, hoping that it would serve as a good enough distraction for him. Winter was painfully quiet, for several minutes, and then he heard her voice.

"Thank you." She finally said. "I... I'm sorry."

Sorry?

What did Winter have to be sorry for?

The white haired girl fidgeted with her food, pushing some of it around her plate with her fork. "I think he's starting to think I might be worth something." She began, her voice sounding like it was far away. "He still won't let me come home, but he's at the very least okay with showing me off as one of his prize children." She sounded impossibly bitter. "I expect once Weiss is old enough that she can be shown off properly I'll be back on the curb again."

"Don't judge yourself for that, Winter." James said quietly. "Some people just... they don't recognize things in us. Some are cruel, and will throw you out, but you have to grow past that and be a better person."

"Can I ask you something, James?" Winter asked, not looking up at him. "Why do you do this?"

"Do what?"

"Look out for me. Give me a place to sleep and eat and feel safe." Winter stopped moving her food around her plate. "You're always there for me, even though you aren't related to me. You even have your own daughter-"

"Winter," James sighed her name out heavily. "You're like a daughter to me. I mean it. When you came into our little circle, you needed help, and I was happy to teach you the ins and outs of what we do."

"You recommended me, didn't you?" Winter turned in her seat now, facing James with her expression serious. "You're the one who recommended me to do all of this."

James nodded.

It was all the answer he needed to give.

"When-"

James thought, and then sprung to life, ready to tell Winter everything that he could in hopes that he could reassure the girl about where she fit into the rest of the world. "Do you remember when your father wanted a new safe installed in his office?" James asked. "Five years ago?"

"I-" Winter hesitated, her brow furrowed, and she looked up at James. "How-"

James just gestured to himself, to answer her question. "I'm the one who did the installation, Winter." James explained himself. "I remember walking around that house, I remember seeing the way that he treated you. It made me angry."

"But I didn't meet you until three..." Winter's eyes widened in realization, like she'd just realized that maybe she'd had friends in high places for a while. She pursed her lips, trying to put things together in her head. "You had Glynda come and find me."

"Yes." James answered, "In short. She taught you, didn't she?"

"Yes." Winter's brow furrowed, as she tried to piece things together so that she could finally really understand what she was doing there. "She said that she'd seen potential in me."

James nodded slowly. "It's true. But she and I had talked a few times, and we decided together that we thought that you had the proper skill set to get involved as a criminal. Not to mention a name that people will flinch at." James leaned against the counter, pushing his food back out of the way just a little bit so that he didn't have to worry about it getting knocked everywhere. "Winter, you belong there. Don't let not originally being assigned on this job get you down. There are just some jobs where you're a harder sell than others."

Winter's eyes widened, and it left James wondering whether or not he'd made a mistake or not. She didn't say anything, just reached out and leaned in towards him. Slowly, Winter wrapped her arms around James. For just a moment, he tried to flinch away from her before he sighed, leaned in, and returned the hug for the girl.

"Thank you." She whispered into his shoulder. James just took the moment to rub her back and do his best to comfort her. They sat there for a moment before Winter finally pulled away, wiping small tears away from her eyes. She looked down at the plate of food that was sitting at her side, then back up to James.

"Eat your dinner," James said, very quietly. "If you want me to, I can drive you home after, alright?"

Winter nodded and turned in her seat to face her food. Slowly, she began to eat, and James took his time to enjoy his own meal.

For a while, neither of them said anything to each other, but James would occasionally look up across the kitchen to see whether or not his phone had lit up with a new text message. Every time, he wouldn't see a message, and James would just look back away.

He didn't know what he was hoping for at this point.

For the entire night, James had been bouncing back and forth on whether or not he should go ahead and message Qrow. And he still hadn't been able to come to any sort of conclusion on the matter. Worse yet, he felt like he never was going to figure it out.

He shook his head and just looked down at his meal again, polishing it off before getting up so that he could set the dirtied dishes down in the sink so that he could make sure that they got washed later on in the night. He wasn't sure that it was going to happen that night, be he could at least think about it.

Several minutes later, Winter got up and did the same as James did, only to set a too-gentle hand on his shoulder when she saw that he was once again staring down at his phone as though it held the key to all the secrets in the universe.

James jolted under the touch, and almost whirled around to face the girl. She took a step back, separating herself from him and then looked to the door. "Do you mind driving me home?" She asked finally, voice controlled. "It's getting late and I don't want my roommate to worry."

Right.

He had to get her home safely.

"Of course not." James set the phone down, not sure whether there'd be an answer there or not when he got back. He forced himself to get his jacket and his keys without also putting his phone in his pocket, just because he didn't want to have to deal with constantly feeling like he needed to check whether he'd heard from Qrow or not while he was also behind the wheel of a car.

Winter put on her boots, and waited by the door. James could feel her watching him as he checked that he had everything he'd need for the short drive before the two of them walked out to the car. James unlocked it before they got there, and Winter slid into the passenger's seat while James seated himself behind the wheel.

The door wasn't even closed next to James before he looked over at the girl to say something. "Seat belt." He half-ordered. Winter rolled her eyes, and made a small show of proving to James that she had in fact buckled her seat belt. Satisfied that they were both secure, James pulled out of the small driveway, and began the drive back into the city.

Winter reached over to the radio and turned it on, setting it to play some music as she did almost every time that she was in James' car. She looked around her seat, and frowned. He had the feeling that she missed his old car, and he couldn't have blamed her for that. He missed his old car too, but since it was in wreckage like the rest of his natural body, there wasn't really much that could be done to fix that particular problem.

"I'm not going to need a ride for the next meeting." Winter said over the music that was pulsing through the car. "This was a one time thing."

"Was there a reason for it?" James asked, his voice low. "I got your call and came over."

"I missed the bus." Winter said, plainly. "And unlike normal I couldn't convince my roommate to drop me off at the shopping mall a few blocks from Roman's."

James nodded, slowly, and sighed. "You know that if you end up needing me again, you can just call, right?"

"I do." Winter said, gesturing to one of the streets that was coming up with a wave of her hand. James nodded, and turned onto it once he was close enough, driving down the way until he reached the apartment building that Winter lived in.

Slowly, the car rolled up in front of the building. James hit the button on his door console to unlock Winter's door, and then the girl got out. She stretched slightly, and closed the door behind her, only for James to roll the window down so that he could say his quick goodbye. "Try to be good, Winter." James said, leaning over and turning off the radio so that he could talk to Winter normally. "If you need anything, you know you can just give me a call."

Winter stood up tall, and looked back at the building over her shoulder before directing her eyes onto James' more directly and giving him a nod to say that she did in fact know. "I know." She finally said, cracking a smile in James' direction. "Don't worry about me, I'm grown up now."

James sighed and straightened back up, facing forward in his seat properly again. "I still worry, Winter." He mumbled, letting a soft smile crease his face. "You know me. Take care, I'll see you soon."

"Of course, James." Winter took the first few steps away from the car and looked back at James over her shoulder. "Bye."

"Goodbye, Winter."

She walked to the door. James didn't leave the small parking space along the side of the road until he knew for a fact that Winter was inside of her building safe and sound. The door swung shut behind her, and that was it. James rolled up the window, pulled out of the parking space, and began the drive back home.

He was alone again.

James sat at the red light and let himself look up at it for a moment in an attempt to figure out what he wanted to do now. Technically speaking, he had the entire rest of the week to himself, and he didn't exactly have anyone that he could spend his time with.

Qrow was a lost cause, driving out to Vale to see Penny was a lost cause, Glynda probably wouldn't want to talk to him, and Roman and Junior were probably going to bed sometime soon.

The realization dawned on James then and there that he was technically free to do whatever he wanted that night. He could have driven all around Atlas, he could have sent himself down highways to see whether or not he could get used to driving at high speeds again properly. He could drive through the city and pass by the ruined gas stations that he and Qrow had been sure to destroy on their last job.

That pang of guilt built up in James' chest again, when he realized that he didn't know what had happened to that shopkeeper that he'd left at that empty grocer's stand alongside the highway. He wanted to go and hunt the man down, to see whether he was still alive or not. James figured that at the very least there was social media, and since he had the cashier's name still burned into the back of his mind, James wondered whether he'd be able to track Tukson down or not.

At the very least find out if he was alive or not.

He didn't know if he'd ever see the girl from the first store again.

James tried to push that thought back, tried not to think about how he was possibly responsible for more than one death in his lifetime. He didn't want to go home, not yet. He wanted to spend his time outside instead. So James wracked his brain to try and figure out where he should go, and what he should do that night.

For some reason that was beyond James, he ended up driving out to Vale despite the fact that he knew that there was nothing for him there. In reality, what it came down to was that there was an old memorial that he used to go to when he was younger when he needed his time away from home so that he could clear his head. He'd lie on the stone benches in the middle of the night and he'd have the perfect view of the illuminated clock tower that stood over the Beacon Institute.

He'd laid on that bench a lot of nights.

Nights where he thought about buying wedding rings.

Nights where he wasn't sure whether things were working out.

Nights when the pain in his left arm got so bad that he couldn't bear to stay at home.

Nights where Penny couldn't stop crying because she was colicky and James had been sure that he was going to snap at any moment.

On all of those nights, that clock tower managed to stand out as a beacon of hope in the darkness of his life. And so now, James drove out to the city of Atlas again in hopes of staring up at that clock tower the same way that he had when he was a young man.

James drove down the highway, and as it became evident that the streets were almost entirely empty, James let himself drive faster. He'd ignore the way that his heart pounded against his chest and made him want to panic, and he'd drive faster still. He'd let his foot put more pressure on the pedal and feel the way that the car vibrated underneath him.

Through his terror, James managed to drive.

It was strange, liberating. He didn't even know how he'd managed it, but he did it. He drove all the way from Atlas to Vale, no stopping, no breaks, nothing. Just a straight shot until he was pulling into the tiny gravel paved parking spot that would let him walk out to the tiny pool of water and the bench where James would surely spend most of his night.

He parked, got out, and shoved his hands into his pockets as he began the walk down the tiny hiking trail that was going to inevitably bring him to the little memorial. Over the peaks of the trees, the moon and stars managed to poke out despite the city lights, and for just a moment, James had to let himself stop and drink in the beauty of the world that existed around him for the first time in over a year.

The world that he'd become accustomed to thinking of wasn't like this one. It was cruel and fast paced, made of concrete and metal things with no chance of life peeking up through it all. But here, in the middle of a city, there was beauty. He stopped halfway down the trail and slipped his glove off of his right hand, and almost shivered when the feeling of the cool air registered against the sensors embedded in his metallic fingers.

He approached a tree, reached out, and let himself run his fingers down the bark there. It didn't feel the same as it would have when he was young, James knew that, but it was rare that he let himself experience how the world could be with his right hand. Maybe if it wasn't ugly, maybe if it didn't fit the way that he was supposed to look, then he would have given himself this more often, and not only under the cover of moonlight.

James stepped into view of the memorial, where he saw the lone granite obelisk standing proudly with lights shining on it. The moon reflected in the pool of water, casting an otherworldly glow on the entire tiny clearing around it. Seeing the bench, James approached it, and seated himself, staring down into water and seeing the way that his own reflection was there.

It wasn't him.

But this wasn't like the mirror at home, he couldn't just disturb the face looking back at him right now. He couldn't just punch it and clean up the shards later. No, if he tried to ruin this face that stared back at home, it would only reform, over and over again.

It almost made him sick to think about it. And a little bit jealous. He could in theory reform, but things were too different for him now. There were too many gaps in his memory, there were too many pent up feelings of anger waiting to climb out of him and turn him into one of the monsters that he'd spent nearly his entire life trying not to be.

James squeezed his eyes shut, and laid back on the bench, twisting his body so that he laid along it length-wise.

And sure enough, the clock tower stood out amongst the breaks in the trees, proudly showing the time with a clock lit up in gold lights.

James let his right hand fall onto the granite beside him, and shivered again when he felt the cold run through his right side like a singular connected nerve. The left side could adjust, the right was left in a weird place where sensation would never truly match what he was supposed to feel. It was never going to match, but he figured that was only one of the prices to pay for being a miracle of modern medicine.

For just a moment, James realized that there was nobody else in the world that felt what he did. And the chances that anyone else ever would feel those things were slim. James didn't move, he didn't try to remove himself from the cold, instead he just stroked the stone with his fingertips, trying to associate the pressures and cold with what he would feel on his left side.

Texture was missing. Texture had always been missing.

James closed his eyes, doing everything he could in his power to try and make the feelings match in his mind even though he knew it would never get there. There was too much different, but he still tried, vain as it was. Nobody else would understand what he was going through, which meant that the only one he could really depend on properly for these things.

James became aware of the way that the breeze seemed to swirl around him, and the scent of the earth, and the way that there was something floral being carried on the wind. The gravel moved under his feet if he bothered to move them, the stone was hard against the back of his head, but laying somewhere that couldn't give under his weight was comfortable. He felt supported.

His eyes opened again.

Clock tower, standing proud against the sky.

Closed.

Gravel shifting.

Open.

Stars, pinpricks of light against a dark sky.

Closed again.

Gravel shifting, moving with quiet tapping sounds.

Open.

A face, obscured by tiny glasses stared down at him. James' eyes widened and he sat up, already scrambling to get the glove out of his pocket so that he could hide himself away from this newcomer. James shifted, trying to hid his hand behind his body as he found the glove and did his best to get it on, only for it to snag in one of the joints on his ring finger.

"Hello." The stranger said, plainly. They stood there, in a dark green sweater with a cup of coffee in their hand as they leaned against a cane that looked like it was impossibly ornate. Their voice was calm, and sounded painfully nonchalant. So nonchalant that James wondered whether or not they had seen the metal of his hand.

James tugged the rest of the glove down over his hand, albeit a bit roughly. He looked back over his shoulder at the stranger, and was instantly struck by the way that their hair glowed silver in the moonlight. It almost looked unnatural, either that or they had aged beyond their years. James had to consciously push down the temptation to reach up and touch his own hair where it was going grey.

The stranger frowned, cocking their head slightly. "What are you doing out here at this hour of night?"

James opened his mouth to try and come up with an answer, and only managed one word. "Thinking." He mumbled, looking away from the stranger and at the reflecting pool instead. He didn't know what he was supposed to think, or do, or say, especially when the only thing that was going through James' head right now was the fact that this person had seen his hand in all likelihood.

"May I sit with you?"

James opened his mouth, looked at the space on the bench beside him- it was the only one there, and let out a low sigh. "Yes.' He finally said, scooting a bit further over to the left so that this newcomer wouldn't have any contact with his right side. That was the absolute last thing that James wanted to have to think about right now.

Surely enough, James was joined by the coffee drinker, who stared at the obelisk, as though they were looking for something there too.

They spoke.

"James," Their voice was controlled, and something crawled up the back of James' neck that made him want to run. How did they know his name? "Do you know who I am?"


	28. The Wizard

The question hit James with the power of a thousand freight trains or the force of an explosion.

Were it a physical blow, it would have left him on his back or worse.

He stared up at the lone newcomer, trying to figure out whether or not there was anything about them that James knew. Clothing didn't match anything in his memory, he didn't know anyone who walked with a cane, and he certainly didn't know anyone that had gone that grey so young.

There wasn't a single scrap of familiarity about them.

James swallowed, and let his eyes dart around the area so that he could be sure he had a way out if things turned ugly- it was the very least he could do.

There was the trail, dark as it was. Although James didn't do so well on the running front these days, he could probably outrun someone that needed a cane. If he had his gun on him, he would have been getting ready to draw just in case.

But he hadn't needed a weapon when he'd gone out that night, so all he had to rely on was his resolve.

Finally, he looked the stranger in the eyes and he spoke.

"No," James said. "I don't know who you are." His eyes narrowed dangerously and James decided that it was time to pose a question of his own, regardless of whether he thought he was going to get an answer. "How do you know who I am?"

The question earned a chuckle, one that left James gritting his teeth in quiet frustration. He needed to figure out who this person was and how they ticked. Fast. Otherwise, he had no idea what his near future was going to look like and that wasn't something that James wanted to think about.

His future involved taking care of Penny, nothing else.

He wasn't going to let that be changed. Especially not by a stranger in the woods.

"I've been watching you for a while," the stranger said, raising their cup of coffee to their lips to drink from it. The entire time, the eye contact that had been established between them and James didn't break. "You've worked for me, and I've even made sure that you were able to leave that hospital room."

What?

No .

That was impossible.

The stranger's words left James' heart speeding up in his chest, almost dangerously. James reassessed the area, not sure what he was involved in now, just that if things went wrong here it was probably going to be fatal or at least close to it.

James couldn't have that.

Not now.

Not ever.

Never again.

"You're-"

"Ozpin." The stranger said, leaning slightly on their cane. "Yes, I suppose I am."

"How did you know I-"

"James, I bought your car." Ozpin said, their eyes flicking over to the trail. "I recognized it from the streets and decided I should introduce myself."

James swallowed. That didn't answer any of his questions, not really. It didn't make James feel better. It made him wonder whether there was something wired into his car that acted as a tracking device for Ozpin. He wondered if he should disassemble the gun that he'd been given as well to figure this out.

He opened his mouth to say something, only to find that his eyes were flicking back over to the trail.

He could run from this.

He wouldn't have work or income anymore, but he could run from this.

"You..." James started. Stopped. Tried to collect his thoughts as best as he could despite the situation. There wasn't really any getting out of this cleanly, James realized. And worst of all, James didn't have even the slightest idea as to how he was supposed to navigate this situation that had so quickly turned impossibly delicate.

Why did he have to want to spend some time in a quiet place instead of heading home?

He could have just avoided this.

"James, you seem to be at a loss for words." Ozpin commented, moving closer to the bench where James was sitting and slowly sinking down onto its polished granite seat, using the cane surprisingly little. "Tell me what's wrong?"

James shook his head, and he stood up, putting space between him and Ozpin so that he couldn't be made any more uncomfortable by their presence than he already was. "Why did you come here?" James asked, knowing that he probably wasn't going to get anything that even resembled a good answer to that question, but right now it was all that he had.

"I could ask you the very same, James." Ozpin answered, cocking their head to the side slightly. "I came here because I wanted to talk to you." Ozpin raised their eyebrows slightly over their glasses. The gesture was pointed, and surprisingly impactful. James didn't know why, but it just was.

He got the strong feeling that Ozpin's greatest power was that they could pull someone's strings from within. They could manipulate anyone into submission or whatever they wanted- all with words, James guessed.

It was terrifying.

"Why..." James hesitated. "Why would you want to talk to me?"

"Because I paid for your arm." Ozpin said, opening up their cup of coffee and looking into it as they swirled it around, like they were trying to get some sugar that had deposited at the bottom to dissolve quicker. "And your leg. Your car, even replaced your precious gun." Pause. "Not to mention anything else that needed replacing."

They looked back up at James from over those tiny glasses. "And you still doubt me."

"How did you-" James began to ask, but a realization quickly crossed his mind. "Glynda told you."

"Told is a way to phrase it, I suppose." Ozpin answered. "I understand your concerns James, but I'm curious to know where they're coming from. Is it because I'm never in the room with the rest of you?" They frowned slightly.

James was left at a loss for words, wondering whether he'd managed to slight Ozpin over and over again without even realizing it. In the past, Ozpin's lack of presence tended to make speaking out more comfortable, there was never a face to attach to what was being said. Much less, was there a voice, or a personality that came with it.

Ozpin was always just a name.

That wasn't so true anymore.

"Yes." James said, keeping his voice as steady as he possibly could so that he couldn't end up betraying his own fears. His own worries. His own angers. "I've worked for you for a long time, Ozpin." James didn't break the eye contact that had formed between them, and he fell into a form of parade rest. Squared his shoulders, stood up tall. Made himself look as intimidating as he possibly could because at least that way he didn't run the risk of showing how weak he felt in this entire situation.

James didn't like how weak he felt about this at all.

"I know."

"But I've had a hard time having faith in someone that never had a face, or a personality. You've been a name and nothing else to me and to a lot of other people for a long time-"

"Are you upset that I've changed that?"

"I-" James froze, not really sure whether he was actually upset or not by the entire situation. In a lot of ways, what he was feeling and thinking were things that were far too complex to chalk up to fear or anger. Those feelings weren't complicated enough. "I don't know." James said, feeling the way that his brow furrowed with frustration as he spoke up. "I'm just confused as to why you've chosen to do this now, and with me. Why not go to Glynda?"

"Because Glynda knows me, James." Ozpin answered, their eyes narrowing slightly behind their glasses. "And I'm worried about you, and your loyalty. Why can't you trust that I'll be playing my part in your latest assignment?"

James sighed heavily. "Will all due respect, I find great difficulty in putting much faith in ghosts. I think you'd be able to understand that." James felt his jaw tighten with the words, and he could feel his hands slowly balling into fists at his side. He could run, or fight, or continue as things were. In this case, talking to Ozpin may have been the only option that James had.

And he really wasn't sure how he felt about that.

"Even when those specters have tangible effects."

"Yes." James answered, reminding himself not to change his stance or let himself be seen as the weak one in this encounter. He had to stand taller, stronger, and better than Ozpin. If not for the sake of the argument, for his own sake. "I've spent years wondering whether you were a person, a group, a corporation. All I've gotten to prove your existence-"

"A few gifts?" Ozpin asked, both eyebrows raising up this time around. "A car, some paychecks, the occasional note?"

If this was the real Ozpin, then they probably weren't above having others do their bidding for them. James wondered for a moment whether or not there was a way to get this person to verify that they were in fact Ozpin. There was no way that Ozpin was a proper given name, James had decided that long ago when he'd first heard of them, but he could find out whether or not this was actually Ozpin.

In theory he could, at least.

Theory was better than nothing.

"Would you... wait here?" James asked, looking to the trail for a moment. "I don't know how much I trust that you're Ozpin."

For the first time in their meeting, Ozpin laughed. They looked back down at their cup of coffee and then back up to James for just a moment. "I can wait here, but it's best you don't have me waiting on you long, James."

Taking the permission, James walked to the edge of the trail. He stopped for a moment, and let his eyes flick up to the clock tower that still managed to peek out at him from over the canopies of the trees. He took a mental note of the time- it was 11:37 at night, which was an odd time for anyone to go to the park, but in this case, he was going to accept being here for a weird time.

He'd come here willingly, after all.

He just hadn't expected to have company.

James stepped onto the gravel footpath, following it down towards the tiny parking space where he'd left his car. As soon as he was at a point in the trail where he could see the vehicle, James stopped dead in his tracks when he realized that the second parking space that was there was presently unoccupied.

Ozpin had either walked there, or someone had driven them out.

For someone who walked with a cane, that was very odd.

He looked back over his shoulder for just a second, to see whether or not Ozpin was there. He didn't hear the rhythmic sound of footsteps in the gravel, and that was enough to tell James that at the very least he hadn't been followed. James swallowed, reached into his pocket, and found his car keys. He shifted them about in his hand and manually unlocked the passenger's side door of his car.

He slipped into the seat there and reached up for the visor. He pulled it down gently with his right hand, frowning slightly at how different the sensation was compared to what he'd been feeling earlier when he'd taken off the glove for just those few minutes. James slipped his left hand up into the tiny compartment above the visor and felt his fingertips brush against folded paper.

Bingo .

James gripped the paper between his fingertips and slid it down from the visor so that he could hold it properly. With the paper extracted, James flicked the visor back up to its normal position. Which just left him with the note. He unfolded it slowly, and almost didn't even bother to read what was written there. He almost knew the words by heart at this point.

When the car had first been delivered at his home, James was sure that he must have read this note over a thousand times. Processing what was going on had been difficult to say the least.

'James-' It started, feeling entirely too informal to be a note from a boss to one of his employees. 'I'm sorry to hear about your accident-' James found himself gripping the paper a little tighter than he should have when he read that word. Accident. Accident didn't properly address what had happened to him as a term, and it made him angry. Ozpin had been responsible for it, calling it an accident felt wrong.

James did his best to force the thought back from his mind so that he could focus on what was important first. Ozpin was still waiting at the obelisk for James to return. He had to memorize this note, he had to memorize the script. He needed to know every way that every letter looped and curled, he needed to know the way that the text bled from handwriting into something that looked like it was printed.

He blinked, focusing in on what was written on the note again.

'It's not much but I hope it can aid in your recovery. - Ozpin.'

God, he hated those words. James tried to push that feeling back so that he could focus on something other than the fact that it was entirely possible that he actually hated Ozpin. Ozpin had responsibility for what had happened to him, and he was never going to be able separate from that that.

Instead, he just focused on the print of Ozpin's name. If he could get a signature from the person in the park and he saw that it matched up, then at the very least James would be able to feel some sort of concrete thoughts on what was happened.

James folded the note back up and shoved it down into the depths of his pocket before he got out of the car. He ducked his head down as he got out, and when he looked up, he saw Ozpin standing there, staring him down like they'd expected for James to leave at any moment.

It was probably a reasonable concern, James recognized in the back of his mind. It was a well known factor that James didn't have the strongest of loyalty when it came to Ozpin. It was also well known that he didn't have particularly many qualms about voicing that opinion.

Glynda was also sliding Ozpin information under the desk, James reminded himself.

So James steeled himself, and stood up tall like there was nothing about Ozpin that left him feeling intimidated. He puffed his chest out and held his chin high and did his best to look down on Ozpin in an attempt to show that in this, he was the superior being. He was the strong one, despite the horrors that he'd endured over the course of the last year.

"You doubt me." Ozpin said, their eyes going to the pocket where James had stored the note away for safekeeping. They took a half-step forward, leaning on their cane as they did so. "Why?"

"I know better than to trust those who only work in shadows."

Ozpin stared at James, and it was almost enough to make James want to shrink back and away from the stranger. He wanted to run, or to call someone else and get their backup so that at the very least he wasn't stuck alone with Ozpin.

He had the strong feeling that no matter what, he was never going to actually know why it was that Ozpin chose him over anyone else to come and talk to. If it truly was some small feeling of regret, the maybe it would make sense, but James doubted that. Ozpin had been absent for too long.

Maybe that was why Ozpin was coming to him now instead of before.

"You do know that i've been in your corner, James." Ozpin said. "I bought you a car, I replaced your gun, I even ensured that you were recon-"

James froze.

His eyes narrowed, and he opened his mouth before Ozpin could finish that word. He didn't want to know how it was supposed to end, because he was quite sure that he already did. He didn't want to think about it, to go back to that hospital room and know that the only reason he was standing there today was now standing in front of him.

He felt sick to his stomach thinking about it.

"You arranged for this."

"Oh James," Ozpin said, a sly smile crossing their face in a way that made James almost want to commit extreme violence. He wanted to lash out and scream about how Ozpin did this to him. James bit his tongue, not wanting to let it go forward. "I kept you alive. I completed your arm-"

"For what reason?" James growled at Ozpin. "For your own gain? For the sake of some twisted agenda-"

"I did it, James, because ultimately what I wanted was no loss of life. So I saw to it that yours was saved." Ozpin spoke calmly. They didn't waver, and they didn't even seem to react to the fact that James was visibly angry at them. Instead they stood there, with one hand on their cane and the other still with that damned cup of coffee in their hand. "You can understand that, can't you?"

James grit his teeth. He understood Ozpin, at least on some small level and that was one of the biggest things about this that ultimately scared James. In all logic, Ozpin had in fact done the right thing, but in the end there was still anger, and hurt, and suffering.

And it would probably never be erased.

Slowly, James let his hand slip into his pocket and he could feel the edges of the note brush against his fingertips. He wanted to do what he'd planned, he could have reached into his and forced this Ozpin to replicate the text there. But at the same time, he wasn't sure that he wanted to.

The more that he stood face to face with Ozpin, the more James got the feeling that this was no impostor. They knew too much, and that was terrifying. They knew everything about him, it seemed. Everything over the course of the last year, they knew.

James felt sick to his stomach. He reached out to his car, and let his fingertips brush along the smooth metal surface there. He figured that it was entirely possible for him to take the car, and go, but this wasn't the time.

James was willing to bet that nobody else had spoken to Ozpin in person, sans Glynda possibly.

No.

He couldn't run.

"That still doesn't explain to me why you've chosen me to speak to." James said, deciding that the best thing that he could do here was try to stand his ground. "Why?"

"Doubt."

It wasn't a good enough answer. It likely never would be.

James tried not to grit his teeth. He let his hand stray deeper into his pocket until his fingers brushed against the keys to his car. If he wanted to, he could absolutely leave at any second and there would be absolutely nothing that Ozpin could do about it. He could just go, and that would be the end of everything.

Whether or not Ozpin was the type to take their anger out on James for deserting here later on would be a different story, though.

"Listen to me, James." Ozpin began, keeping their voice as level as possible. James figured that it was a sign that they had figured out how close he was to running, and decided that for just that moment, the best thing that he could do was listen. Even if that meant submitting in a bad situation. "You have a job to fulfill, and I've asked for you to be at the center of it all as the eyes of everyone involved. I know there is perhaps... better placement, but I chose to put you there for a reason."

James swallowed and did his absolute best to ignore the feelings that were building up in the pit of his stomach. He could have very easily gone out of line and said something that he shouldn't have, but James decided that the best course of action was simply going to be quiet rebellion.

Not his usual, but he could do it.

"With all due respect," James started. "This job is doomed to fail, Ozpin."

"So it may be."

That answer left James boiling with anger. That wasn't the answer of someone who cared about their charges, it was the answer of some callous being that went on with disinterest. James tried not to get angry, and tried not to go the lengths that would inevitably end in violence. Instead, he spoke again.

"Is that all you have to say?" James growled, trying his absolute best to keep himself level for the time being. "That it may be doomed to fail? Do you even care-"

"Of course I care, James." Ozpin said, their hazel eyes narrowing behind their too-small glasses. "I will do my role to ensure that none of you end up dead or worse."

There it was again, that feeling that made James want to lash out violently again. It built up in the pit of his stomach, and James had to take the moment to remind himself that separating himself from this was entirely possible. All he had to do was get into the car and drive, and he wouldn't have to deal with Ozpin anymore.

James didn't know whether 'worse' meant imprisoned or like him.

He wasn't sure that he wanted to know.

"I don't know that I can trust you."

"That's probably wise."

James swallowed. In the distance, the clock tower began to toll its lone, mighty bell.

One...

Two...

Three...

"If you want for me, or anyone other than Glynda to trust you, I recommend you-"

"Take a change of action?"

Four...

Five...

Six...

"Yes."

"And how should I do that, James?"

Seven...

Eight...

Nine…

"Appear."

Ten.

"That's all?"

Eleven.

"Yes."

Twelve.

The bell stopped its chiming, and for that moment, the entire world went silent and stood still. Neither James nor Ozpin moved, no wind blew through the trees, and no animals dared to make a sound.

Finally, Ozpin spoke.

"If that's what you think you need, James." Quiet again. "I suppose I could appear to your band of merry thieves."

That was a surprise, to some degree. James had been expecting more of a push back from Ozpin, more from the silver-haired stranger to show that they were in fact the dominant one in all of this. But instead, they just agreed, and James almost didn't know what he was supposed to say or do anymore.

He'd gotten what he wanted.

What now?

James finally pulled his hand out of his pocket and let it hang down at his side. He stepped back, deciding that the best thing that he could possibly do now was probably just make his tactical retreat. There was the solid possibility that he was going to have to go ahead, reach out to everyone else, and tell them that he'd met Ozpin, but James didn't know exactly how he was going to go about making that happen.

He knew even less whether or not anyone else would find the news of Ozpin's sudden appearance welcome.

That wasn't good.

"Very well." James bit out the words, and looked to his car. "If you don't mind, I have to get back to Atlas."

"Yes, I suppose you do."

There it was, that nonchalant tone that Ozpin liked to take on. It made James angry. Oh, it made James angry.

"I do." James confirmed, reaching into his pocket a second time to find his car keys and taking a step back so that he was a little bit closer to where his car was parked. "I expect to see you. And before the job, Ozpin. We'll be having meetings this week."

"I'll be sure to be there." Ozpin said, their voice and expression seeming like it was entirely too soft. A small smile split their face and then they nodded in the direction of James' car, like they were granting him permission to leave then and there. Like they owned him somehow. "You should drive home, James."

James nodded and turned, unlocking his car. He walked along to the driver's side door of the car and pulled it open. Just as he was about to climb in, there was Ozpin's voice there again, always taunting him.

"Oh, and James?"

"Yes?"

"Drive safe. It wouldn't do if you were to crash."

James slammed the car door shut behind him, and pulled out of his parking spot as quickly as he possibly could, boiling with anger the entire time.

He drove half a mile before he pulled over and sent three text messages from the side of the road.


	29. Stutter

Qrow was woken up bright and early by the morning buzz of the Torchwick-Xiong household, which shook him out of his sleep. He sat up and rubbed at his eyes, taking just a moment to figure out his surroundings. In the kitchen, Junior was getting breakfast ready, while Roman was loudly trying to corral their three children.

Roman's head snapped straight over to the couch Qrow was on at the realization that Qrow was up. He flashed a too-bright smile in Qrow's direction, and Qrow had to momentarily stop himself from wanting to punch the redhead.

Morning people were the worst.

Instead of saying anything to Roman, Qrow just rubbed at his head and blinked his eyes, as though there was actually a chance that he'd be able to wake himself up a little bit that way.

"Good morning, birdy." Roman called from the kitchen, slowly making his way into the living room where Qrow was sitting. "You know, I've been meaning to talk to you-"

Qrow cocked his head to the side, not feeling exactly sure what Roman was talking about and just a little afraid to find out. The ginger just smirked and flopped down onto the couch beside Qrow, not even giving a chance for Qrow to move his legs out of the way before Roman landed. "Why?" Qrow asked, pulling his legs up close to his chest so that he didn't get hurt. "What's-"

"We and I have a meeting tonight, birdy." Roman started. "And you are going to have to come along. From what James said, it sounded important."

"What're we meeting for?" Qrow asked, scratching at his jawline and frowning at the realization that he still really needed to go ahead and shave at some point.

Some other time.

"Baby Bear needs his training." Roman answered, curling into the couch alongside Qrow. There was a moment where Qrow didn't know how he was supposed to react to what Roman had said. He swallowed, and shifted a little bit uncomfortably as he felt Roman rest his head against his arm. "And Jamesy-"

"He lets you call him Jamesy?"

"Not when he's around." Roman chuckled. "James invited me and Junior over, and I figured that it was best that we bring you along for some training of your own. And besides..." Roman's voice trailed off slightly, like he knew something he wasn't supposed to.

Qrow didn't need to even think about what that meant before the sinking, sick feeling began to develop in his stomach. Roman didn't know what he was getting into, and Qrow had a very strong feeling that there was no way to go about making this happen without there being a fight at some point.

Even worse, he had the strong feeling that Roman probably hadn't cleared bringing him along with James. Right now, there wasn't even a slight possibility that James would welcome him into his home. Not with the way that things had been last time.

It made Qrow wonder whether or not Roman was taking personal stake in them. Either way, it made him worry. Oh, how it made him worry.

"I... I guess I could come along." Qrow finally said as he resigned himself to the fact that it didn't look like he was going to be able to get away with saying no at this point.

Especially when it was involving work and much harder to work through. Despite all of this, that wasn't going to be anything close to what Qrow needed to soothe the feeling that was building up in his stomach that told him in quite plain terms that going to James' right now was a very bad idea.

"Alright then!" Roman said cheerfully, standing up and smoothing his shirt down in front of him. He looked over his shoulder to see that Junior was serving the kids breakfast at the table, then looked back at Qrow. "Join us, would you?"

Qrow nodded and stood up. He scratched at his chest for a moment, and frowned when he realized that he was wearing the same thing that he'd worn the night before to the meeting. In the back of his mind, he knew that he probably could have gone ahead and asked Roman for something to wear to bed, since he was fairly certain that he and Roman were about the same size clothes-wise. Asking for Junior's clothes would probably leave Qrow looking scrawnier than ever.

On the way out of the living room, Qrow stopped. His phone was sitting on the coffee table, screen facing up. He frowned, when he realized that there probably wasn't going to be any new messages there from James that were looking for apologies. When he went to check it, it would probably be Taiyang or Summer, maybe even Raven.

But James?

Almost definitely not.

It wouldn't do. Qrow tried to push it back out of his head and seated himself at the kitchen table, once again across from Neo. Internally, Qrow couldn't help but hope that the girl's attention wouldn't be turned onto him this morning. The night before with the chicken-stabbing had been unsettling enough, and Qrow was relieved to see that this morning, Neo only had some waffles for breakfast.

Seeing a waffle get stabbed was at least slightly less unsettling.

Junior came in with two extra plates of food, and looked between Qrow and Roman, holding them out. His face was flushed, like he'd been working for too long over a hot plate. Qrow almost felt bad for the guy, but he took his plate and seated himself down at the table across from Neo. He couldn't really concentrate on the meal though.

His mind kept on drifting back to his phone and the fact that he was inevitably going to have to face James later on that day.

This was going to go poorly.

Lucky for Qrow, once Junior joined the table, the family began what probably was their normal morning conversations. Based on what Qrow was hearing, it sounded like Junior's mother- and she sounded like an absolutely lovely woman, had arranged to take the girls out for the day. Something about a teddy bear picnic and a carnival.

Qrow wondered whether he'd be able to bring his nieces along for something similar. Whether Yang and Ruby would like something like that.

Maybe sometime he would be able to convince Tai and Summer into bringing them to something like that.

However, for Qrow, he was glad to be able to just be quiet, and listen. When it was time for the girls to say their goodbyes and leave for the day, Qrow said his polite goodbyes, and then he was left alone in the apartment with Roman.

The door swung shut behind Junior, and the apartment was silent for almost a solid minute. Qrow didn't say anything to Roman. Instead, he went over to the couch where he'd slept the night before and seated himself. Roman soon joined him, choosing to sit on an armrest before flopping back onto the couch to look up at Qrow.

Roman landed with a soft bounce. Qrow and him exchanged a look for just a moment, and Roman smiled gently. Qrow tried not to act weird as he picked up his phone and checked the messages there. To his surprise, there was one there, sitting in his inbox and waiting for him to answer it. From James, of all people.

Qrow felt his heart skip a beat in his chest and he almost felt like he was going to drop his phone. To Qrow's dismay, Roman seemed to pick up on that. The thin man twisted a little bit, the rest of his body making its way onto the couch before Roman looked up at Qrow as directly as possible. If he looked over, Qrow would have been able to watch the way that Roman's emerald eyes flicked between Qrow and the phone.

It was silent.

Too quiet.

Qrow almost felt like the world was going to stop, and then to his surprise, Roman said something. Something that was entirely too welcome for Qrow to hear.

"Well..." Roman said, quietly. "Are you going to open it?"

The million dollar question. Qrow silently cursed Roman for daring to ask it.

He stared down at the screen, with its message alert showing in an all too bright blue. There were no words in the preview, just a singular period that told Qrow quite plainly that if James wanted to say something, he didn't want for anyone else to be able to see what it was about. Whatever this was about, James was worried.

That just made Qrow worry.

Qrow swallowed and pressed his thumb to James' name. The lock screen for his phone was brought up, and Qrow had to angle his body so that he didn't have to risk Roman leaning how to break into his phone for the future. He liked Roman just fine, but that didn't mean that Qrow trusted him that much. He knew too much about how Roman could be, unfortunately.

The message opened up, and when he read it over, Qrow couldn't process what it actually said. There wasn't anything wrong with the message. It sounded like James, the text wasn't scrambled at all, but there was something about it that came off to Qrow as being extremely off. Like James had been afraid to send it, or like maybe there was something that had spooked him.

Either was possible.

Slowly, the words began to make sense in Qrow's mind. Something about a meeting.

Roman leaned over his shoulder, and Qrow heard the sound of Roman's breath hitching. Then Roman's voice followed soon after. "He... Qrow, we have to meet him tonight."

"What?"

"Qrow, he met Ozpin." Roman said, his voice somewhat insistent. "If he met Ozpin..."

"That's..." Qrow started. "That's never happened before, has it?"

Roman shook his head. "No, Ozpin doesn't come to us directly. They only talk to Glynda..." Roman swallowed, and Qrow got the strong feeling that there was the possibility that the other man was afraid of what this could mean. There was a moment, though, where Qrow realized that something was off.

Why would James message Qrow of all people?

Roman nudged Qrow's shoulder, albeit gently. "You should answer him." Roman said, his voice soft. "Tell him that you're going to be coming over with me and Junior and that we can talk about this there." Qrow sighed, realizing that Roman was right. Going and talking to James was definitely the correct course of action, but there was just still something about the whole situation that came off as feeling very off to Qrow.

So Qrow just tapped out a quick response to James and turned off his phone once it was sent. He looked over at Roman, and their eyes met for just a moment before he finally managed to think of something to say to the other man. "So everything just changed, didn't it?"

"Yeah." Roman said. He sounded like he was almost upset, and that was perhaps the one thing that left Qrow feeling really worried. Roman was always the confident, bouncy one. But now, it was like that person had disappeared and that made Qrow scared. If Roman was upset, something was seriously wrong.

What the hell was going on now?

Qrow did his best to relax back in the couch. He rested his head against the back of the couch and couldn't help but stare up at the stark white ceiling as though there would be answers there. He knew better than to think that anything was going to be able to fix things at this rate, though. He closed his eyes and raised his hands up to his face, which he covered in them.

Neither him nor Roman said anything. It was like there was suddenly a wall that had been constructed between the two of them and it was going to be there for as long as they knew each other.

It could stretch for lifetimes.

Time started to fade away for Qrow. He didn't know for how long he sat there on the couch staring at the ceiling. He was only snapped out of his own thoughts by the sound of the door to the apartment opening, followed by Junior's low voice giving a greeting.

At Qrow's side, Roman lifted his head up to look over at Junior, who was looking a little bit concerned for them already. Junior stopped at the edge of the living room, and looked between Roman and Qrow with a very obvious look of worry upon his face.

"Did something-"

"We have to go to James'." Roman interjected and stood up, brushing down his clothes so that they laid on his body properly. He made direct eye contact with Junior, and for a moment Qrow was almost certain that he saw Junior shrink back a little bit. "Now."

"Something new come up?" Junior said, keeping his voice level despite the fact that he almost seemed a little bit scared.

"It'll get explained when we get there by the looks of things." Roman said. The thin man was already on his way over to the door, and it was then that Qrow realized that Roman was very serious about them leaving for James' right then. "But we have to go."

Junior inhaled deeply and nodded. "Okay." His arm dropped down to his side. "Okay. Get ready to go."

"I'm ready." Roman said. The ginger looked over at Qrow and raised an eyebrow. It was then that Qrow realized that he probably had to say something himself. He was ready, really. He had everything that he'd worn to the meeting the night before, it was just that he needed to put on his shoes and then he could leave.

The only thing he didn't have was the courage to go ahead and make this all happen. The courage to face James.

"Yeah." Qrow finally said, shrugging as though he wasn't bothered, despite the fact that the exact opposite was the truth. "I just need my shoes."

Junior nodded, and went back to the front door, opening it up and stepping just outside of it so that there would be room for Roman and Qrow to do their things that they needed to do. Taking the cue, Qrow went to the door and slipped into his shoes without bothering to do anything to tie them before stepping outside, while Roman carefully slipped into a pair of shoes that had to have been rather expensive.

Silently, the three of them went down to the car. Junior took the driver's seat, and Qrow had to slide into the back seat where he had to try to avoid the blankets and things that had been left there by Roman and Junior's kids. He crossed his arms in front of him and huffed a little bit, feeling a bit miffed that he was once again being relegated to back seat status with his co workers.

He knew that it was dumb, but he'd gotten to like riding up in the front with James all the time instead of being stuck in the back like a useless child.

None of them spoke for the entire ride over, and since it was just across town it wasn't too worrisome. Junior seemed to be wearing his nerves, and Roman seemed like he was also a little more wired than he should have been otherwise. There was a certain electricity that flowed through the entire car. Something that told him that he wasn't at all the only one that was feeling about this meeting.

For Roman, it was fear of what Ozpin meant.

For him, it was James.

For Junior, it was probably him and Roman making things worse for him. Qrow couldn't imagine the guy being afraid of anything, and yet...

They pulled up in front of James' house. The first thing that Qrow noticed was that James' car was parked there, and looked like it hadn't been touched since whenever James got home. Junior pulled in alongside it and parked. The giant unbuckled his seatbelt and exhaled slowly before looking over at Roman, who seemed to be almost squirming in his seat.

"Ready?"

"Always am, Baby Bear." Roman said, flashing Junior a smile that looked more than only a little forced. Junior turned his head and looked back at Qrow, silently asking the same question.

Qrow just nodded and did his best to swallow his fear. He looked up at the house, and he could the silhouette of a man at one of the outward-facing windows of the house. James was there. James wasn't only there, James knew that they had arrived, which meant that James probably knew that Qrow was there at this point.

Junior got out of the car first. The silhouette in the window disappeared, and then Qrow was getting out at the same time that Roman was before the three of them went to the together. They stopped there, and Junior was about to raise his hand to knock at it when the door opened almost by itself, to reveal James standing there, in a thick black sweater that couldn't possibly have been comfortable this time of year and stubble covering his jaw.

It shouldn't have been a good look.

James' blue eyes shot between the three of them, and then he stepped out of the way of the door to let out a quiet "come in." Together, the three of them stepped inside of James' house.

The first thing that Qrow noticed was the fact that today James' home looked like it had been lived in as opposed to being left unnaturally clean as it always seemed to be. It was almost like James may have had company at some point, which was very odd. If James had truly spoken to Ozpin in person, was it possible that they had been here.

"Junior." James said, his voice almost sounding like it had gone completely ragged at some point over the course of the morning. If Qrow knew the man better, he would have thought that James had been drinking, but that wasn't how James was. James wasn't like him, James was responsible. "You made it." James finished, almost sounding relieved.

"Are you okay?" Junior asked, keeping his voice low as he walked deeper into the house, side by side with James. "What's going-"

James' eyes tracked their way over to Qrow, and for a moment, Qrow wasn't sure whether he was going to get yelled down or not. He still didn't know why James had decided to contact him as opposed to contacting anyone else about what had happened and his little encounter with Ozpin. Even though Qrow didn't know what had happened beyond the fact that something had apparently happened, he was still very much confused.

It sounded like he'd contacted Roman and Junior but hadn't given a full story, like he'd just given them a reason to show up because they were on a time crunch.

Why would James choose him instead of someone else to talk about Ozpin? Why would James do that when he already was angry at Qrow for other reasons?

None of it made any sense.

Qrow didn't say anything. He decided that it was probably for the best if he just stayed out of the way so that James wouldn't notice him too much.

Together, the four of them went to James' living room. Qrow found himself squished between Junior and an armrest, just across from James as he pulled up a seat of his own before leaning forward to clutch his hands together in an obvious sign that his nerves were at some sort of peak right now.

Qrow wondered what was going through James' mind then and there.

He tried to ignore the half-empty bottle of liquor on the coffee table between them.

"James." Junior started the conversation, leaning forward himself slightly so that he could make direct eye contact with James instead of being stuck in such an awkward position as he was now. "What happened?"

James pursed his lips, and looked away from them. Like he was afraid of showing his vulnerability to the rest of them. "After the meeting, I brought Winter here. We had dinner and I drove her home."

"Okay?"

"After that I couldn't..." James inhaled deeply and looked away from them again. It was then that Qrow recognized that James was all nerves right now and he didn't seem to have a good handle on what he was feeling and thinking. "I couldn't bring myself to come home to an empty house. Ended up driving out to Vale."

Those words left Qrow feeling absolutely stunned. Why had James gone to Vale? Had he been hoping to get to talk to him? Or to Penny? Why would James-

"I went to this one old memorial. I used to go there to think when I was younger, and then Ozpin they just..." A pause. Inhale slowly. Exhale slower. James clenched his hands together in pure agitation. "They just appeared."

Qrow didn't know what that meant, and when he looked over at Roman and Junior, he got the strong feeling that neither of them really knew what James was talking about either. He wanted to ask the questions to try and get James a little bit out of his shell so that they could figure all of this out, but Junior beat him to the punch.

"Why do you mean they just appeared?"

"I don't know." James admitted. "I was alone one minute, and then they were there. No car in the lot, nothing. They just showed up."

Roman was quiet, but he shifted his position. He leaned forward slightly so that he could look at James from a much more direct angle than before and then spoke up for himself. "So they just..." James nodded. Roman's eyes widened, and then he asked another question, much quieter this time. "What did they want?"

James' body seemed to go stiff, and the man got up, leaving behind his chair as he walked to the window so that he could stare out at the street instead of feeling like he was trapped under the scrutiny of the rest of the room. Qrow figured that it was just a James thing to do. When things get hot, run and hide so that nobody can question about it.

Very James.

"They wanted my trust." James said finally, his voice and expression equally solemn. "They wanted my trust, but I don't know that's even possible after-"

The room went silent. Taboo territory. Uncharted topics and discussions. No, they weren't going to talk about what had happened to James. Qrow got the feeling that none of them ever would have a truly frank discussion of it.

On his side of the couch, Roman seemed to go completely rigid at the mere thought of it.

Knowing what he did about the whole thing, Qrow couldn't exactly blame the guy for it. He hadn't been there to witness the crash when it happened, and he couldn't say for sure whether Junior had seen it either.

But Roman?

Roman had seen the whole thing. Qrow doubted that he managed to sleep a lot of nights because of it.

It was quiet again. Too quiet. Roman spoke up now, deciding that it was for the best if he prodded James with another question. "So what did you say?"

"That it wasn't..." James hesitated and swallowed again, like he was doing his absolute best to push back his nerves, despite knowing that such a thing was ultimately impossible. "That it wasn't really possible. I essentially left them with something along the lines of needing a presence in meetings if they will gain my trust."

James turned now and looked between the three men that were sitting on his couch. All at once, his demeanor almost changed as James stood up straight and put his arms behind his back as he fell into parade rest.

For the first time that entire day, James held his head high and steeled his voice. When he spoke and there was no waver, that was how they all knew that they may have gotten their James back instead of this scared imposter that had been there before him just moments ago.

"It should be expected that they will be making an appearance at our next meeting." James finally announced, focusing his gaze onto Roman. "I hope that you'll be ready for that?"

Silence.

Roman and Junior exchanged a look, and then Roman stood up. He tried to puff himself up in his stance just a bit so that he could stand a little bit more evenly with James. He stepped towards James and reached out, placing a hand on James' right shoulder.

To Qrow's surprise, James didn't react to that.

"I'll be ready for it, Jim." Roman finally said, putting on his best smile so that he couldn't accidentally betray any fear that was in him.

A slow smile split James' face, and then he nodded. He stepped away from Roman, and looked between Qrow and Junior. There was a minute of hesitation, like he was trying to find something to say.

Qrow tried not to notice the way that James' gaze seemed to settle on him for just a moment too long before it was torn away and focused on Junior instead.

James cleared his throat and raised a hand to gesture towards his office. "I think we had work to do?"

Junior got up, and began on the way to James' office. Roman smiled, and followed after Junior. Surprisingly, James didn't follow after them.

No, instead his eyes settled on Qrow, and when Qrow looked into their depths he saw a swirl of a thousand emotions, each one as unidentifiable as the next.

Qrow got up and shoved his hands down deep into his pockets. He hesitated, not really sure whether or not he was going to be welcome in James' office. He looked at James, asking the question silently.

James nodded. He didn't say anything either.

Qrow took the first step towards the office, then the next. Once he was two or three steps away from James, that was when the other man turned to follow after him.

Qrow stepped into the office, where Junior and Roman were already seated awkwardly and waiting for James to begin whatever it was that they needed to do. His eyes darted around the office, looking for a place that he could sit since he was presumably going to need to be out of the way for things. Finding nothing, Qrow just leaned against a wall and crossed his arms over his chest in what was definitely a defensive measure.

Things were too weird.

James stepped in and sighed heavily. He looked at Junior, then to the desk. Qrow watched him as he moved, the way that the long line of his body moved with every step until he was at the edge of the desk, picking up some of the paperwork that was there and beginning to sort it over. James had a bored expression on his face, and craning his neck just a little bit was enough to tell Qrow that James was working with blueprints.

For what, he didn't know.

Roman sidled up next to Qrow and leaned against the wall next to him, watching as James got Junior around the side of his desk and down by the safe that Qrow now knew contained James' guns. He listened in as James began to walk through everything that Junior could possibly need to know about the safe- it's make, what kinds of locking mechanisms it used, what its outer shell was made from.

Junior listened intently, and Qrow just watched as James began to walk him through cracking the safe open. It seemed like an involved process, one that that James knew like the back of his hand. Qrow couldn't help but wonder where James learned so much about safes. Sure, James had mentioned having a particular expertise in the past that had been enough to make him desirable as a criminal, but Qrow never really asked what it was.

Now he had the feeling that he knew- James had blueprints. James had probably built the damn things.

Once in awhile, Junior would speak up with his own questions. Things about what he should do if he can't get into the safe, what he should do if the mechanism locks up on the way closing it, what he should do if he thought he was running late on his part of the job.

James did his best to answer every question as thoughtfully as he could, if only for the sake of keeping the peace.

Something about watching James and Junior work was almost intimate. Qrow, feeling a little intimidated stepped out of the room. Roman turned his head and cocked an eyebrow in Qrow's direction. Qrow had to try very hard not to react to it too much. He shot Roman his best smile that made it look like he was just slipping off to the bathroom so that he couldn't draw suspicion.

He stepped out of the office and closed the door behind him. Realizing that he should probably at the very least follow through with his alibi, Qrow shoved his hands down into his pockets and began the walk upstairs to the bathroom that he'd grown to know as the good one.

He wasn't prepared for the sight of a broken mirror inside.

Qrow politely stepped back out of the bathroom and closed the door.

Whatever had happened, it wasn't his place to know.

He hesitated for a long time before finally getting the nerves to go back down to the office to rejoin the rest.


	30. Apparitions

James managed to cut contact with everyone for a few days after Junior, Roman, and Qrow's visit. He'd needed it.

After everything that had happened, with Ozpin's surfacing, the fight with Qrow, and getting Winter back into the middle of things, James was just exhausted and he needed as much distance as he could get.

That distance wasn't going to be enough to fix things for him. That was the worst part- no matter what, he still had to face Qrow, and everyone else, and Ozpin.

They still had a doomed job to complete, and nothing would be enough to make him feel any better about it. There were still too many holes. Despite everyone being trained into their jobs, there were still too many issues.

Junior had just learned about how to break into safes.

Qrow just barely learned about how to pour drinks properly.

He and Glynda were going to be playing a part in the center of the whole thing. They needed to be able to act like they had some sort of legitimate bond, he was going to have to accept that in all likelihood, Glynda was going to have to get close to him and make physical contact with him.

If he had even the slightest idea of how much Glynda knew about him, maybe it would have helped. It probably wouldn't have. In the end, James didn't know how much he was going to be able to hide from her over the course of the night.

Thinking about it all made him feel sick. The kind of sick where he wanted to hide in bed for days, and had an invisible weight pressing down on his chest, and once in awhile he'd even feel nauseous or unable to eat.

The only one who had even the slightest idea as to what he had been through to the full extent was Ozpin, probably. Ozpin had claimed responsibility for his 'reconstruction' after all. It only made sense that they knew.

Aside from them, James had gone ahead and told Qrow a few things, but beyond Qow and Ozpin he didn't really know how much was known. In theory Roman, Junior, Glynda, and Winter didn't know much of anything.

James knew that was probably wishful thinking.

He'd been trying very hard for a long time to make sure that nobody would be able to figure out how much had changed.

It was entirely possible that his gambit would fall apart and then he'd be without a little bit more of his dignity. He needed to be able to protect himself from people, as well as himself.

That wasn't to say that he had anything against Glynda. The two of them didn't tend to always get along, and they definitely didn't see eye to eye all the time. But there wasn't anything that made him want to get into a fight with her or anything like that.

So now, he was entering Roman's apartment in hopes that they would be able to get through yet another meeting before they finally did the job that weekend.

Even upon entering the room, the tension was so thick that anyone could have cut it with a knife. For the first time that James had arrived on time, everyone wasn't milling about and talking to each other like they didn't have any cares in the world.

No.

Instead, they were all sitting in their usual seats, almost silent. A number of heads turned in James' direction when he stepped in, and it was a very immediate, simple sign that they all knew. Someone had told the others about what had happened.

Roman maybe.

Definitely not Junior- there wasn't a single man that was less likely to tell a secret than him.

Qrow was a possibility, but James didn't want to even have to go as far as to think about what it would mean for him if it was in fact Qrow going around and telling his secrets like that.

Qrow knew about his arm and leg.

If Qrow had spilled this, how could James trust that he wasn't going to also go ahead and talk about James' body?

He tried not to think about it.

His blue eyes scanned over the entire room, in search of any presence there that didn't normally belong there.

James found none, no silver bob of hair, nobody taking up new pieces of furniture.

It was more than enough to tell James that Ozpin either hadn't decided to come in the long run- which wouldn't have surprised him by any means, or they just hadn't arrived yet.

Considering Ozpin's more than notable absence from their work over the course of the last years, James was more than willing to believe either. Ozpin wasn't reliable, not in James' mind at the very least.

James forced himself to walk forward until he found his normal empty seat. He lowered himself into his normal position down next to Glynda as he normally did. The first thing that he did upon sitting down was to reach for his notebook as he always did.

Routine would have to be his main comfort here, it seemed.

He pulled it out and flipped it open before balancing it on his left knee and getting his pen so that he could take whatever notes he had to do over the course of the evening. James didn't look up, he didn't pay Winter or Glynda any mind, nor did he think to greet Roman or Junior.

He didn't want to even bother to acknowledge Qrow. His anger over the events in the elevator which was still far too tangible to make himself comfortable around the other man. The fact that Qrow had made a repeat offender out of himself had a lot to do with that.

So James didn't say anything to anyone. Instead, he went ahead with his usual routine, dating the corner of his notebook. Once that was done, James finally sat up properly and looked forward at the wall, where there were already some things waiting for them to look over.

It looked like they were finally almost completely ready to go forward with their plans and do the final layer of their planning. The same map of the city that they usually used was already posted for everyone to see, and Roman's easel was flipped open to the list of codenames again, just this time there was an extra name scribbled at the bottom of the list.

"Flurry."

James let his eyes slide over to where Winter was sitting before he tore them back away so that he didn't have to face the fact that things were going to be awkward if he ended up talking to anyone. The room was too quiet, like they were all just waiting for someone to stand up and take the reins and make it seem like someone there actually knew what they hell they were doing.

Glynda reached out and placed a gentle hand James' left knee for just a second. He looked up, and their eyes met for just a moment. She looked over at the hallway, silently asking James whether or not he would be up for a private talk between the two of them later. Probably so that they could talk about their own roles in the job.

They were going to have to coordinate, and James was fairly certain that they were the only ones left at this point that were still yet to go ahead and do so. It wasn't the worst thing in the world to have to think about, but it was still a necessary evil that they had to face.

She stepped away from the couch and made a few even strides to the front of the room. Roman looked up from where he was half-sprawled on the loveseat and shifted in his position, moving so that he would be able to get up and take his place at the front of the room beside Glynda.

For the first time since James had met Roman, it looked like all of the fire that James had come to know and love about the redhead had drained out of him. This wasn't the normal Roman that James knew- cocky and upbeat. No, this was a Roman who was finally coming into contact with the reality of what he was doing.

The facade had finally cracked.

James had always hoped that he would never have to see that happen.

He suspected that this wasn't the first time it had cracked. He'd just never seen it before.

Green eyes met green eyes as Glynda and Roman tried to figure out what they were supposed to do and how they were going to make it happen. The gaze held for a little bit, and then Roman waved his hand to gesture to Glynda and tell her that she should take the wheel. She nodded slowly and stepped forward.

"Well, it appears that everyone has arrived." Glynda said, trying to put on her most bored sounding voice as possible. James couldn't help but to wonder whether she was feeling a bit shaken herself. James had the feeling that was probably a feeling that was permeating the entire group.

Regardless of what they knew about Ozpin.

A week ago, they'd all seemed to sure and so ready to go ahead and make this job happen.

Ozpin's appearance had changed all of that overnight because now there was a very real feeling that nobody was safe. They'd always said that Ozpin would make sure that they made it from job to job without anyone getting hurt or in trouble.

James closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to steel himself. The knowledge that his willingness to go ahead and let people know that something was wrong was now coming around and biting him in the ass wasn't comforting.

Glynda inhaled deeply and looked over her shoulder at the map. At the easel. Back to the group. "As you all may be aware, the date of our job is quickly approaching. Everyone has been making their preparations as necessary, but now that we're so close we need to know that everyone has gone ahead and done their job." Her eyes turned onto James first. "Anything to report?"

Targeting at its finest.

James couldn't figure out whether or not Glynda was trying to get him to admit to the fact that he'd run into Ozpin in person to the group, or whether she was trying to just get a simple business report as was considered the norm.

James opted for the latter and set his pen down between the pages of his notebook before sitting as straight upright as possible and raising his voice so that everyone would pay attention to him when he spoke.

"I've gone ahead and given Junior his training on how to do his part of the job." James explained. "As you all know, I've also gone ahead and done some reconnaissance with Roman, and have nothing new to report on that front." James looked down at his notebook, looking for something that would be able to give him something to say. Anything that he could say other than bring up the fact that he'd come face to face with the mysterious Ozpin. "As for my role on the job itself, I have yet to get my suit dry cleaned. I've already managed to get a burner phone so that I can play my part as well as I can."

Glynda nodded and blinked and turned to the easel. She grabbed the first sheet that was there and flipped it up to the first fresh page. She looked around for a marker, and was soon presented with one by Roman, which she took graciously before beginning to write down what James had reported, which ultimately didn't feel like much of anything.

But it was still better than they could have asked for in a lot of cases, and James knew that fully well.

Ultimately, James was just glad that he hadn't had to mention Ozpin. He knew this because once everything was noted, Glynda moved on to the next person. Her eyes fell on Qrow, who was sitting rather awkwardly in the recliner that James used to use during every meeting before he'd conceded to using the couch instead of taking the recliner.

James tried not to look at Qrow too directly as the man was questioned. He saw the way that Roman stiffened visibly when Glynda turned her attention over to him, and the way that he actually pointed at himself to be sure that he was the one that she was trying to get to speak up that day. Glynda nodded, and then Qrow sighed heavily, looking away from everyone else before he began to speak.

"I've learned how to bartend from Junior." Qrow said, not sounding very confident at all. "And it looks like I'll be able to hold my own at the bar. As for the driving, I think I've got it handled."

Glynda gave Qrow a deadly stare, and James could almost see the gears turning in the woman's head as she tried to figure out all of the best ways that she'd be able to pick Qrow apart bit by bit until there wasn't anything left of him. It was all fairly obvious what it meant, to James at least. Glynda was skeptical of Qrow's preparedness, but James almost had to wonder how much of an issue it was going to be when they made the getaway drive.

If things went well on the job, it would be smooth sailing and they wouldn't have anything to worry about aside from how to get rid of the getaway car.

On the other hand, if things went poorly, they were almost guaranteed nothing more than complete, unrestrained chaos.

The tension of the room was both broken and heightened by the sound of a knock at the door. In his chest, James felt his heart begin to speed up and found himself clenching his hands together much, much harder than he should have. He was almost sure that if he wasn't careful, by the end of this he was probably going to end up walking away from this meeting with a bruised left hand.

He knew what those knocks on the door meant.

They all did.

The only thing was that James was the only one who knew what they would inevitably face on the other side of the door. His eyes met Roman's, and then flicked over to Junior's. There was a long moment where they all had to try and figure out who should answer the door.

Roman looked too nervous. Junior didn't seem sure as well, and James was willing to bet that as long as Roman was feeling nervous or uncomfortable, Junior wasn't going to budge.

That left him to go and confront Ozpin.

James tried not to let that get into his head too much. He stood up, and everyone in the room watched as he paced himself, setting down his things and tugging down at his sleeves and the edge of his shirt so that he could feel comfortable with this whole thing. The incident in the park hadn't gone forgotten, and though Ozpin definitely knew more about him than they let on, James wasn't going to be the one caught with his metaphorical pants down.

No.

Not again.

He had to establish who was in charge of things as soon as Ozpin showed up because that was likely going to be the only way that he would be able to avoid getting bowled over by Ozpin's personality or knowledges. James stepped away from the group, and looked back over his shoulder at them.

Roman gave him an encouraging nod with those scared green eyes that didn't look right on his face. Glynda gave him a half-exasperated look that left James questioning how much she even knew about the whole thing.

There was a second knock at the door.

They may have been growing impatient, James realized. He crossed the length of Roman and Junior's apartment until he was at the door. He hesitated, his hand just an inch away from the doorknob, and took the few seconds that he did have to act to sort through every single possibility that he had at his disposal.

In theory, it would have been completely reasonable for James to go ahead, open the door, and put on a smile. But he didn't even know whether it was really Ozpin for sure.

The peephole on the door, however, was probably going to end up being more than enough to answer that question for good. James inhaled deeply and leaned into the hole, putting his eye to the small rounded glass there.

Peered out.

Sure enough, Ozpin was there. They looked too young, and they were in clothing that almost looked similar to what they had worn the other day when the two of them had had their first encounter. James swallowed and pulled his face back from the door before finally opening it.

"Ozpin." James offered the greeting. He didn't let his voice waver, and made sure to stand as tall and as broad as he possibly could, if for no reason other than to show that he was in fact the strong one in this little equation.

Ozpin, on the other hand, stood there. Their eyes flicked over James for just a moment before settling on the space just past his right arm. For just a moment, James couldn't convince himself that Ozpin wasn't just staring at the limb to throw him off.

What was true and what wasn't was very, very hard for James to really say. All that he knew was that he wasn't comfortable, and he still didn't trust Ozpin as far as he could throw them. That said, James didn't even actually know how far that particular metric went, and in the end that made things all the more irritating. He didn't know anything about Ozpin for sure.

It still made him angry.

Ozpin continued to stand there. They took a half-step forward, leaning on their cane for support and James realized that he should step out of the way for them. They made it through the door, and peered up at James from behind the set of too-small glasses.

A sly smile split their face.

"James." That was all the attention that they needed to pay James. They continued their walk across the apartment until they were stepping into the living room, where everyone was sitting, watching, and waiting to finally know who they were working for. James stood back for just a moment. He closed the door and recomposed himself before forcing himself to take long, even strides until he too joined the group.

"So this is the merry band of thieves I've put my interest in." Ozpin said, just as James was sitting down into his seat so that he could continue taking his notes. As expected, everyone was looking up at Ozpin, and some of them almost seemed afraid even to talk or move as long as they were in Ozpin's presence.

Nobody spoke, in the end.

Ozpin raised an eyebrow, and their gaze travelled around the room again as they searched for someone that would be willing to speak up or show their spine. To nobody's surprise, when it was finally time that someone spoke, it was Glynda.

"Ozpin." Glynda stood up and took some even strides over in their direction. She had her tablet clutched in her hands as usual, and she was standing so tall that James wondered whether it would have been possible to make the woman waver where she stood or not.

Somehow, he doubted it.

Ozpin's gaze directed onto Glynda, and for just a moment an almost soft smile graced their features. "I do hope I'm not too late?" Ozpin asked, like they were doing their best to break up some of the tension in the room so that things didn't feel as much like they were bordering on hostile.

"Only a few minutes." Glynda answered. She looked to the easel for a moment and nodded over in its direction. Ozpin, understanding, walked alongside her until the two of them were both standing at the front of the room, where it was impossible for anyone to mess either. Once they were situated, Glynda began to speak again. "I suppose introductions would be an order of business to attend to."

"Yes, I suppose so." Ozpin said. They looked around the room. "Though I suppose I do know who all of you are."

James let his eyes stray over to Roman and Junior, who had both exchanged a look that almost looked like they were both afraid. Or at the very least were considering doing something drastic, probably for the sake of their new family. His eyes traveled to Winter. Sitting uncomfortably, and clutching at the hem of her skirt like she was afraid. Qrow, leaned forward with a determined expression but with his body holding far too much tension.

James didn't want to think about what he would have looked like to someone that was simply doing their best to watch. He probably looked like he was ready to kill. Not that he ever wanted to.

Ozpin frowned, like they were suddenly realizing that they were perhaps receiving a bit frostier of a reception than they should have expected. They stood up straight, taking some of their weight off of their cane, then looked over their shoulder at the spot where Roman's easel now stood. Their eyes scanned over it, looking for something that would tell them what it was that they had to deal with.

Their frown seemed to deepen.

Instead of saying anything, they looked back out at the crowd and opened their mouth so that they could speak. "So I suppose that you've all been preparing to go to work for me." Ozpin said, their tone completely unwavering. "Though it doesn't appear that any of you are well prepared."

There was the sound of someone shifting about quickly, and James let his eyes stray over to where Qrow was. The man looked like he was about ready to spring up to his feet and correct Ozpin on that little assumption. "We're-"

Ozpin's eyes snapped straight to Qrow. "Qrow Branwen, was it?" They asked. Slowly. They turned their body so that they could face Qrow directly instead of having to speak off to the side. Qrow on the other hand, seemed to freeze dead in his tracks as he realized that he may have been in much deeper water than he had originally anticipated. "I assigned you to work the bar, did I not?"

Qrow swallowed, and his eyes travelled around the room like he was suddenly realizing that everyone there was staring at him because he was the one that first that dared to speak out of line. James watched Qrow, not really sure what he was looking for in the way that he acted about things. The way that Qrow moved was stilted and scared, not the usual smooth motions that James had gotten used to.

He could almost see the way that Qrow grit his teeth and grimaced. If looks could kill, Ozpin would have been a little bit more than just a little dead. Finally, Qrow did speak. "Yeah, that's me." He said, sounding entirely defiant with every word. "And you're the Ozpin guy we've been working with."

Ozpin seemed to stiffen at Qrow's words, and James was sure that he saw Ozpin return a similar glare back in Qrow's direction. They hummed, then spoke in a tone that could only be described as eerily calm. "You're half right." They said, and the room was overcome with a certain kind of hush once again, like they were all trying to figure out what that meant.

James thought he might have had an idea, but he didn't want to be the one to voice it.

"What the hell is that supposed to-"

"Qrow Branwen, have you prepared for your task?" Ozpin asked. They moved their head slightly with the words. It was almost uncanny, watching the way that they moved and spoke, and James ultimately didn't know what it was that he was supposed to make of Ozpin.

They weren't like anyone that he'd ever met or seen before. And James had met some pretty strange people over the course of his life.

To James' surprise though, as well as the surprise of everyone else in the room, Qrow wasn't the one to respond. No, that honor actually went to Junior of all people, who had decided to stand up and use his stature to his advantage. It was always rare when that did happen, but James got the feeling that Junior was even feeling a little threatened.

Or at least disheartened by the whole thing, if their past conversations were anything to go by.

"He has." Junior growled, drawing all of the attention in the room over in his direction. Ozpin raised a brow and looked over at Junior. They took a half-step to face him, and James could have sworn that he saw their hazel eyes flick up and down Junior's body for just a moment.

"And I suppose you taught him?"

"I did." Junior answered, steadfast. "And he's damn well ready to do this."

"But are you ready to do what you've been assigned?" Ozpin's eyes narrowed dangerously. For just a moment, James was reminded of a cat batting around its prey before bothering to go ahead and make the kill. It felt like the sort of thing that Ozpin would do, and James had a lot of reasons to be sure that he wasn't entirely okay with that.

They were people, not playthings. They hadn't done anything to earn this sort of treatment.

"I have." Junior growled back. James watched the line of Junior's body, the way that the giant of man's hands seemed to ball up into fists as he either prepared to strike out physically or hold himself back completely. With Junior, it was always hard for James to really tell what the guy was trying to do. "All of us have."

"Have you?" Ozpin asked, tilting their head slightly. Their hair swayed slightly with the motion, and it looked much more intimidating than it should have. "Then why have the reports I've been getting-" Their eyes flicked over in Glynda's direction for just a second before flicking back to Junior, then to Roman. "Said otherwise?"

The room went completely silent, and James quickly came to the realization that he didn't know whether or not there was going to be anyone in the room that could come forward with an actual answer for Ozpin.

Things were bad.

James really didn't want to have to think about what the inevitable end of this would all look like by the end.

All at once, a thousand possibilities rushed to James' mind and he couldn't find a way to shake them as the understanding came to him that if things went as poorly as he was beginning to anticipate, there was the strong possibility that someone didn't make it out of this alive.

He tried not to think about how he was the most likely candidate for that in the end. There were a lot of issues. They could run into legitimate members of security- James didn't know whether Junior would be armed or not when he went to work, they could get caught up in traffic with the police on their tail, they could crash-

That thought left James unable to breathe for just a moment.

Of all of the things that he could have thought of to ruin them, why did he have to think of that? Why did he have to push himself back in that direction instead of letting himself think of more comforting things, like being shot or failing in some other way.

He squeezed his eyes shut and did everything in his power to try and regain his ability to breathe and function normally. He was officially off of his game now, and there wasn't going to be any getting around that fact. If people realized that something was wrong, then there was no getting around things. He just found his notepad and opened it.

Found his pen, and began to scrawl out numbers starting from one and going as high as he could until he couldn't think anymore. Somehow, the rest of the world began to slowly fade away from him. In the distance, in the background, he knew that they were all discussing their plans. He knew that Ozpin was offering what little solutions they had, and oh, they were small, he knew that Roman was probably throwing out his thoughts every few words, and he also knew that Winter was probably asking a lot of questions that there ultimately weren't any good answers for.

Why was he here? What was he doing here?

And then when it came time for James to be dragged back to reality, it was in the form of Ozpin's voice. He tore his eyes away from the notebook in his lap. He'd made it all the way up to about 89 when he finally forced his focus back on the meeting at hand instead of the uncomfortable way that his heart was pounding against his chest and the way that he still felt like he could barely breathe.

"Don't you agree, James?" Ozpin asked. Their eyes bore into him, and James had to struggle to figure out what the question that he'd missed was. Something about success rates? Driving routes? Dress code? James didn't know.

James looked around the room, and once again they were staring at him-why did they always have to stare? It left James wondering how long he'd managed to slip out of the little meeting, and how much he'd actually managed to miss by the time that his attention had been pulled back to the group. What had he done so wrong? What had he been thinking? Why was he feeling this way?

Realizing that there wasn't going to be any getting out of this easily, James spoke up and focused his gaze onto Ozpin. "What was that?" He asked. Tried to think of an excuse to make it look like he'd missed the question for a reason that wasn't just him getting caught up in his own head. "I'm afraid I missed the question."

Ozpin shot him a look that James wasn't quite able to read. It was the look of someone who not only was able to see through James' lie- and quite easily, by the way things seemed, but it was also a look that seemed to be tinged with just a bit of disappointment. Ozpin scowled and looked away from James rather than giving him a second chance to present an answer. They focused their attention back onto the rest of the group, and let their gaze travel around the room.

"Perhaps," they started. "it's a good time for a break in activities."

The room agreed, and everyone began to move around so that they could go take care of their own business.

James couldn't breathe. He beelined out of the apartment for the elevator because he needed to get away from everyone.

He didn't notice Qrow running after him.


	31. Communication

"James!" Qrow shouted mid-stride as he advanced on James' retreating form.

Something was wrong.

Something was very, very wrong and Qrow didn't know what it was.

James didn't turn back to face him. Just kept his walk as consistent as possible with his shoulders square and his head hung low.

Dammit.

"James!" Qrow shouted again, this time feeling the sound tear up from his vocal chords a little more violently than it should have. If he ended up hoarse because of this, Qrow wouldn't have been surprised by that in the moment.

He didn't care.

All that mattered was that he got to James, and he actually talked to him.

James didn't run unless something big happened.

Ozpin showing up for a meeting and acting the way that they did definitely qualified.

Qrow saw James look back at him over his shoulder, like he didn't know whether he was running from Qrow or from something else. His eyes fell on the elevator, and there was a part of Qrow that screamed rather violently don't go there.

But it might be the only way.

Qrow didn't end up getting a choice in that though. Instead of continuing his escape, Qrow watched as James stopped dead in his tracks and half whorled around to focus his eyes on Qrow with a fire in them that Qrow wasn't sure he'd ever seen before.

"What?" James snarled at him, the lone syllable dripping with poison. Qrow stopped. This wasn't what he had expected, but at the same time, he figured that James was probably ready to lash out if he got too close.

But there was something wrong. Something on James' expression that read as exhaustion and fear instead of as just pure anger.

Qrow slowed to a stop, about ten feet away from James. He looked James up and down, and he quickly realized that he didn't actually know what he was doing there. He'd seen James leave the apartment like there was something wrong and that had been all that Qrow had been able to think about. But now, as he stood face to face with the guy, Qrow didn't actually know what he was looking for.

Maybe he just needed to know that the guy was alright.

"I want to walk with you." Qrow said, abruptly and without putting any thought into the statement. He knew that it was probably going to be a solid, clearly defined no, but it looked like he was trying to worm his way back into James' world again. Even though he knew how bad being around James could be, and even though he knew that he and James would probably just end up at each other's throats again, Qrow asked for it. "Please, Jim."

James didn't waver, just looked back over his shoulder at the elevator door for a second before those blue eyes squeezed shut and James let out an impossibly heavy, shaking breath. Finally, James spoke. "Okay." He looked up at Qrow with those almost dejected, scared eyes. "Walk with me." The guy's voice went all quiet and soft all at once, and Qrow realized that this was dangerous territory that he was now treading.

He took the first step forward, testing the waters. James didn't move. Figuring that it was alright, Qrow returned to his normal stride until he was near James. To his surprise, James didn't go for the elevator as he always seemed to, instead he went for the stairwell.

Qrow figured that was probably by design.

James pushed the door that separated the stairs from the apartment floor open and stepped out into the much-cooler area. Qrow stepped in behind him, and he wanted to say something to James. Anything that could ease the tension, anything that could make things okay.

But he didn't say anything. Instead, he noticed that James had bothered to simply level a look on him for just a second.

A shake of a head.

James Ironwood took the first step down the stairs.

Qrow followed after.

Neither of them spoke. Not for several minutes. It was like they were both waiting to be out of the building because at least that way they wouldn't have to deal with the weight of everything that had been going on in Roman and Junior's apartment pressing down on them and making matters worse.

Once they were outside, they only made it a few feet before James stopped.

They were standing in the middle of a parking lot, almost completely uncaring to what could happen to them if neither of them bothered to move. James half-turned to face Qrow, and shoved one hand down deep into the depths of his pocket like he was looking for his keys. The poor guy looked all but completely lost, and there wasn't a single part of Qrow that could figure out why.

Then James spoke again.

"Qrow," Quiet. "Why did you want to walk with me?"

Surprisingly, there was nothing heavy or dark on James' tone. There wasn't anything accusatory as Qrow had grown used to expecting, and there wasn't anything that could clue him in on how James was actually feeling right then and there.

James Ironwood was the king of mixed messages, and now that Qrow was looking at him, the way that he looked so tired and even sad, Qrow couldn't think of anything he could say or do that would help to de-tangle them.

"I don't know." Qrow slid his hands into his own pockets.

"What do you mean?" Blue eyes blinked away from him and then back. "How do you-"

"I don't know, Jim." Qrow answered. He made a point not to let his tone get out of his control at all. That wouldn't do, that wasn't what he wanted to do. "Look it's just-" Qrow cut himself off and looked for a better way that he could phrase things. Looked for a way that he could dance around the issues as he understood them. "You seemed upset."

"So you-"

"Yeah." Qrow cut James off again. "I just wanted to know that you were-" Qrow stumbled on his thoughts, but couldn't find a good way to say what he needed to. His mind flashed back to the broken mirror in James' apartment.

No.

He couldn't bring that up.

Finally, he forced some words out.

"I just wanted to know that you were okay, Jim." Qrow confessed. "That's all." When James opened his mouth to protest, Qrow raised a hand to stop him. "Really. I mean it. I just wanted to know you were okay."

James stared back at Qrow with something unreadable on his face that was more than enough to make Qrow almost certain that he'd done something seriously wrong once again. But instead of saying anything to hurt Qrow, or break his heart, James spoke, very quietly.

"Okay." Blue eyes away. A turn towards James' car. Blue eyes back. "Sit with me?"

Qrow nodded and approached James, who was always sure to be a few strides ahead of Qrow, surely by design. The two of them climbed into James' car, and once the doors closed, there was a certain kind of weight that hanged over both of them.

There was a part of Qrow, some small part of him, that was almost sure that he was going to be crushed by that feeling. He couldn't say that to James, but he was almost completely sure of it. Things were weird, and wrong, and worst of all there was no getting around that fact, but here Qrow was. He'd made his bed, he supposed.

It was time to lay in it.

At his side, James was sitting there silently. He stared forward, and his hands were resting on the steering wheel like it was the only lifeline that he had to carry him through the day. There was a small part of Qrow that wondered whether or not that was James' only lifeline. Whether or not without the steering wheel there to ground James, the man would break.

Qrow didn't want to be there to see James if it happened. When it happened. In theory he already had.

He wracked his mind, looking for anything that he could say. He didn't really think that there was anything that he could have done to make things better for James, but at the same time, Qrow got the feeling that saying something would just make things worse. He was about to settle on small talk, when James spoke up, his voice clear as day, but his conviction wavering.

His voice didn't waver.

"Why are you here?"

"To be sure you're okay."

"Why?" Pause. "You should be back up at the meeting."

"It's weird up there, Jim." Inhale. "You know that. I don't want to be in a room with all of them while-"

While Ozpin is there went unsaid. Neither of them needed to hear it out loud, they both knew that was what belonged on the end of the sentence.

James didn't say anything.

"You think this job is doomed, don't you?"

"I do."

"But?"

"But it's too late to get out and with Ozpin there-" James shook his head, like he didn't know what he was supposed to do. LIke he didn't even know whether he was talking truthfully or was just getting himself beaten down in ways that he shouldn't have. Qrow wondered whether or not James was just stuck in his own head- based on what he'd seen when he'd gone to James' house, he wouldn't have been surprised by that.

Finally James finished. "Running right now wouldn't work, Qrow." James mumbled. "This... thing, it'll just hang on your back until it crushes you."

"Is that what you really believe?"

Once again, James didn't say anything.

That answered Qrow's question.

Qrow couldn't help but wonder what he should do. It was possible that he could have gone ahead and apologized for the last time the two of them actually spoke, but there was a part of Qrow, a rather large part of Qrow, that told him bringing those things up and letting them be said would just hurt things.

"You know we're both going to have to go back up there, right?" Qrow asked, quietly. "You're right. We can't just run from this-"

"We?"

Qrow shrugged. "I dunno, I think everyone's thinking that this job's going to get us killed, Jim." He was quiet again. "I get wanting to go straight, you know that?" Qrow stared down at his hands. There were three rings sitting on his right hand, and he found himself spinning them as he sat there. "If I could tell my girls what I do for a living-"

For the first time that they'd gotten into the car, James looked over at Qrow and their eyes met. Qrow tried not to let his breath hitch at the sight.

James shook his head, and for just a moment, Qrow thought that he saw a tiny smile on James' face, though it was afraid to come out. "You're not supposed to want to get out, Qrow.' James said before pulling his eyes back away from Qrow. "You're new to all of this. You're supposed to want the adrenaline and all of that."

'I'm almost the same age as you. You're just three years older." Qrow said, quietly. "And maybe I want to try being a productive member of society or something. Like you, I guess."

"I'm not-" James shook his head again. "I'm like you Qrow. I just play better at the whole... productive member of society thing." James was quiet, and then he turned his eyes back onto Qrow, even leaning back in his seat a little bit. "What are you doing here? Why did you choose this life?"

"I dunno." Shrug. "I just needed options." Quiet. "You?"

"I don't know." James admitted. "I got discharged and I was sure that there wasn't..." James shook his head. "I don't know. I just... fell into this work. It was never what I really wanted, but I got an adrenaline rush and it paid well."

Quiet again.

"So why are you back?"

James exhaled slowly, and Qrow couldn't help but want to reach out and hug the guy. Make things better.

'I don't know." Inhale. "It's just-" Exhale, ragged. "I needed something, Qrow. I needed something to-"

"To?"

"To remind me I was still alive, I guess." James shook his head, like he'd just said the stupidest thing. "I spent... ages in that hospital, Qrow. Ages. I was sure I'd never walk again. Never get to hug my daughter. And when I got out it was a relief but-"

"Something was missing?"

"That's the thing, Qrow." James whispered, so quietly that Qrow had to strain to hear what the guy said. "Something will always be missing."

It was silent again. Qrow stopped spinning the rings on his fingers, realizing that it wasn't doing much to make him feel better. He didn't know when he and James were going to have to go back up to the meeting, or when anyone was meaning to rejoin. Qrow shifted slightly in his seat and sent a text message off to Roman to ensure that someone could come get them when it was time to start, or at least send a message so they knew what to do.

"You know I don't judge you for it, right?" Qrow asked, sliding his phone back away. "Coming back?"

"You should." James answered. His face became stony, and Qrow couldn't help but wonder. "Qrow, people don't just come into this life. And smart people don't stay in it. I should never have come back."

"But you have bills to pay."

"Yeah." James said, sounding bitter. "Among other things."

"I'm sorry." Qrow didn't know what he was apologizing for.

"Me too."

Qrow twisted in his seat to face James directly and even leaned in, just a little bit so that he could feel just a little bit more connected to James in that moment. "You mean it?"

"Yeah." James said, voice coming out barely above a whisper. "If this goes the way I expect it to I don't want-" James cut himself off, and Qrow couldn't help but wonder what it was that James had been about to say. He watched as James shook his head, and the way that one strand of black hair that never sat in place swayed with the motion.

Then:

"It's stupid."

"Nah." Qrow answered. "You're expecting for this whole thing to go to shit, right?"

"In short terms." James answered, quietly. Qrow watched him, and saw the way that all of the tension seemed to flow back into James' body. He wished that he could have done something to reach out and fix things. "Hey, Qrow?"

"Yeah?"

"Come home with me tonight."

Qrow felt his heart stop in his chest and his mind began to race with the realization of what it was that James was asking for him to do. He opened his mouth to speak up, and only ended up closing his mouth immediately as he failed to come up with something to say.

Silence.

"Qrow?"

"Can we drive out to Vale so I can get clothes?" Qrow asked, turning his head so that he could catch James' eyes. "Because I want to but-"

"Yeah." James said. "Okay." Quiet. "You can stay in the guest room."

Qrow let out a low whistle, and his eyes popped open a little bit with the realization that James was actually more than a little bit serious about it. He'd never even considered that James was going to be willing to let him sleep anywhere other than the couch.

"Guess I'm moving up in the world, huh?" Qrow asked, leaning forward so that he could get a better view of James' face. It was tight, like James was feeling a bit uncomfortable with the situation. "You mean it?"

"Yeah." James answered. "I can drive you out to Vale to get whatever you need I just..."

Slow exhale.

"I just don't want to be alone tonight, alright?" James' voice was barely audible. His hands tensed around the steering wheel. "You can stay until after the job even if you're okay with that I just..."

"I get it." Qrow answered. "It's too quiet, right?"

"Yeah." James said. "We'll go with that."

Qrow closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat, tilting his head back so that he was in a more comfortable position. He even stretched a little bit, expanding his legs out as far as he could make them go before settling back into the chair.

"I'll come with ya, Jim." Qrow finally gave his answer. He could almost hear the way that James relaxed at that, though he wasn't personally able to see it. A part of him wanted to reach out and put a hand on James' arm to let the poor guy know that things were okay, but Qrow didn't.

It turned out that doing whatever he felt every time was working out for Qrow poorly. Qrow didn't want to mess things up again, especially when it seemed like James was finally willing to open up and actually let him in.

"Thank you." He could hear the sound of James settling back into the seat as well. He also heard the sound of James getting his phone out and unlocking it with that familiar quiet click.

Qrow opened his eyes and turned his head to face James. "What's up?"

"Just checking whether we should go back in soon." James mumbled, almost sounding a little bit sleepy. "We wouldn't want to-"

"Right." Qrow sighed. "Of course not. Not with Ozpin there."

"Exactly." James finished. Qrow's eyes flicked over at him for just a second, and he saw that James was staring at the ceiling above him as though it would somehow give him answers to something. "I'll have errands to do tomorrow."

"Okay."

"You don't mind?"

"Nah." Qrow said, shrugging. "It's not a big deal. I help Tai and Summer with their stuff all the time, I don't mind coming along for the ride with you if that's what you need."

It went almost silent in the car again. He turned his face to see James' expression, tight and nervous, and possibly even a little bit pained. James was as much of a mess as he was, Qrow realized.

They both had baggage. A lot of it, judging by how James went about the day to day. But at the same time, Qrow was at a point where he felt like he could actually go ahead and help James to carry some of that.

Take some of the weight off of those broad shoulders before James finally went ahead and crumbled.

Qrow wanted to do that. And he got the feeling that as long as James felt okay with the whole thing, James would probably be more than happy enough for the relief.

Even if he might try playing things up like he was fighting it.

They didn't say anything to each other. For a while, the two of them just sat there, and it was comfortable. Neither of them said much. Qrow could tell that James was just trying to work through his schedule for what he had to- or maybe he was just trying to clear his head.

Qrow was okay with that.

Eventually, Roman did text him, and it was time for James and Qrow to get up and begin the walk back up to the apartment. The entire time, Qrow noticed that James seemed to be drifting away from him a little bit.

He tried not to read into it. He had to focus on what was going to be happening directly in front of them when they got through the door to Roman's apartment.

James stepped through first.

Qrow followed. 


	32. Two Cups of Coffee

James woke up early in the morning.

It was the day of the job, and he was once again feeling completely wired for the activity that was to come. He couldn't get past the fact that there was a lot to worry about- a formidable laundry list of things that could go wrong.

He was in the kitchen, preparing a pot of coffee to carry him through the morning. James was also waiting for it to be a somewhat reasonable time for him to go and wake Qrow up. As usual, James had gotten up excessively early because of nothing more than nerves.

Qrow didn't need to be up as early as he was, James knew that. Qrow could sleep.

The job wasn't going to be until late that night, but there were so many things that James needed to be sure was taken care of before he finally suited up and began to play the part of the overworked businessman that night. He'd get Qrow up soon, and then he'd go on looking into his errands, but for now, it was just a waiting game.

Qrow had been staying at his house for three days now. As promised, James had put him up in the spare bedroom that Winter had called hers when she was a bit younger and still needed a place to stay.

James couldn't pretend that wasn't something that was weighing down on him.

There was a part of him that knew that he and Qrow weren't out of the thick of their problems, so to speak. The last few days had been pretty awkward for them both. James knew that Qrow had noticed things, things about his patterns, things about how his home was that weren't exactly normal.

It was impossible that Qrow had missed the fact that the mirror in James' bathroom had been shattered at some point, for example. The good part of it all was that Qrow had been polite enough to make sure that he didn't end up accidentally stepping out of line and ruin things more, but he was still worried. Qrow probably knew and just didn't want to go ahead and bring it up.

Obvious breakdowns were hard to dance around.

At James' right side, the coffee maker beeped. James looked over over at it, and saw that it was about ready.

It was time to go get Qrow up and out of bed.

James stood up straight and tugged down on his sleeves and his shirt. This morning he'd ended up forgoing the glove- he was almost at this point where he could feel comfortable around the house when Qrow was there and the glove wasn't the worst thing at this point.

He began the walk up the stairs to the hallway with the three bedrooms. James' room was closed, as it should have been, as was Penny's. He stopped just outside of the door to the guest room where James knew Qrow was going to be inside.

Just outside of the door, James hesitated and raised a hand up to the door as he tried to work up the nerve to knock and try to wake Qrow. In theory, he could have just gone in and woken up Qrow without knocking- it was his house, after all.

But he didn't want to risk throwing things off- not when they had work to do that night that was going to require steady heads all around.

James inhaled deeply and knocked against the door, three times in three sharp raps.

On the other side of the door, James could hear the sound of Qrow shifting around and trying to make himself comfortable. He sighed heavily and shook his head before knocking on the door again.

"Qrow!" James called through the door. "Get up!"

He heard the sound of Qrow getting out of bed and seemingly dragging himself across the bedroom. James also thought that he could hear the sound of a blanket dragging against the carpeting that he knew coated the floor in the room.

It almost sounded like Qrow had collided with a wall, and then James heard the sound of the doorknob rattling before the door was pulled open and he was presented with the sight of an exhausted looking, completely shirtless Qrow Branwen.

"Whaddya want?" Qrow asked, his voice sounding much raspier than it normally did.

James almost felt bad, seeing the guy looking so tired. There was a part of him that even wanted for him to be able to apologize to Qrow for waking him up, but at the same time he wasn't able to do that. Not when they had the job hanging over their heads that day.

"Get up." James said, deciding to keep his voice even as he spoke. He also made a point to look over Qrow's shoulder instead of looking down to find out exactly how clothed or unclothed Qrow was. "Coffee's downstairs."

"What time is it?" Qrow asked, leaning against the doorframe and raising a hand so that he could rub at his eyes and try to relieve some of his exhaustion.

"Six thirty." James answered, realizing that Qrow was probably noticing the way that he was making a point to avoid looking at him. He shook his head and looked down, focusing on the pattern on the blanket that Qrow had wrapped around himself. "You should get going."

Qrow squinted at James, and for just a second James actually considered retreating. "Jimmy, we don't have to go out until like seven why the hell are you-"

"We have things to do, Qrow." James answered, sighing heavily. "There's always work to do. Always."

Qrow frowned and stepped forward and into James' space. "So?" Qrow shifted his grip on the blanket that was wrapped around his waist, and for just a second it almost looked like the blanket was going to fall at any second. "We can afford to sleep, can't we?"

James stepped back, trying to put some distance between himself and Qrow again so that he would have less to worry about for a bit. He had to suppress the urge to swallow and run, but did his best not to. He closed his eyes for a second and even found himself pinching the bridge of his nose before pulling his hand away.

"Qrow, the stakes are high on this job. We have to go out and get ready in any way that we can so that when we show up for work, we don't risk anyone getting killed on the job." James had to do his absolute best to keep his voice and tone as level as possible as he spoke. He didn't want to show off how afraid he was actually feeling, but at the same time, he also didn't want to end up understating the risks that were at hand.

Qrow groaned loudly and stepped out of the room, doing his best to tie the blanket off at his waist so that it couldn't end up accidentally falling down. "You said there was coffee?" Qrow asked, doing his best to go ahead and change the topic without things getting too awkward.

"There is." James confirmed. 'Downstairs."

"Breakfast?"

"Toaster waffles are in the freezer if you really want to eat." James said with a heavy sigh as Qrow began the descent towards the stairs so that he could make it down to the kitchen. He watched Qrow's retreating figure.

He coughed loudly, just so that he'd be able to catch Qrow's attention just long enough that he'd be able to give some sort of order to the guy. "Qrow." James said, putting on his best commanding voice possible. "Pants."

Qrow turned slightly, still standing at the top of the stairs. His eyes narrowed into an exhausted squint. "What?"

"Pants." James said again. "My house, my rules."

"And your rules are-"

"That you at least put on pants so that I don't have to worry about you ending up nude in my kitchen." James tried to keep his voice level the entire time. He made a point not to look at Qrow.

To some small relief, he heard Qrow groan and turn, and then the sound of the blanket dragging against the hardwood floors before Qrow shouldered past James and slipped into the guest room. Somewhat relieved, James began the walk back down to the kitchen so that he could at least pour the two of them their coffee.

Qrow was almost assuredly going to go ahead and fill his coffee with far more sugar and cream than ever should have been necessary, but at the very least James could start to enjoy himself. He stepped into the kitchen and immediately got down two empty coffee mugs, which James filled one after the other.

With his coffee poured, James leaned back against a counter and sipped from it. Almost on cue, Qrow came down the stairs, now dressed in a pair of pajama pants that were perhaps a little bit looser and too low slung to be considered decent.

Qrow climbed up into one of the chairs that separated James' kitchen from the rest of the living room and leaned against the counter there. James set his mug down and picked up the spare, carrying it over to where Qrow was sitting before putting it down there. "Cream's in the fridge." James mumbled.

"Thanks, Jim." Qrow mumbled, hopping down out of the seat as he walked around the side of the counter so that he could begin getting his coffee in order.

Instead of saying anything to Qrow as a response, James just picked up his mug of coffee. He stepped out the kitchen itself and seated himself against one of the higher chairs at the kitchen divider. "No problem." James mumbled as he reached into the pocket of his pajama pants so that he could find his phone and begin actually planning his day out.

Qrow began to rummage around in the cabinets, looking for something. James didn't bother to intercept- he was pretty sure that he was at a point where he wasn't going to have to worry about Qrow finding something that he wasn't supposed to.

"So what's the day look like anyway?" Qrow asked, almost loudly as he began spooning way too much sugar into his coffee. "I know we have to go to work at..." Qrow blinked, like he had forgotten the time for everything to get started.

"Seven."

"Yeah." Qrow answered. "So what are we supposed to be doing for the rest of the day?"

"I figured that we'd start the morning off with a visit to Roman and Junior, just to make sure that they have everything in line." James explained. "I'll have to pick up my dry cleaning, and I suspect that you-"

James locked his eyes for Qrow's for the first time that morning. "You'll probably have to get things ready for yourself also. Uniform, all of that."

Qrow nodded, and pursed his lips, pensive. It was like he couldn't figure out how he was actually supposed to go through the day himself. It was odd, James thought. The two of them had such different roles that day, and yet they were both probably equally unprepared.

"So your day-" Qrow began to ask, seating himself at one of the seats next to James. "How much of it is going to be getting into contact with people?"

"A lot of it." James mumbled, thinking of Roman, Junior, Glynda, and even Winter. Things to do. People to see.

He also had another run-in with Ozpin that night to look forward to. It was going to be rough- the entire day was going to be rough. Qrow was going to be fine for the most part, but James was afraid.

Not that James would let it show.

He did his best not to think about it. Instead, he focused his gaze onto one spot on the wall so that he didn't have to think about what was going on just next to him.

Qrow...

"If you're going to eat, you should do that now." James instructed as he stood up and drained down the rest of his coffee and slid his phone back into his pocket so that he wouldn't have to worry.

"You sure?" Qrow asked, giving James a slight look that asked whether or not James intended on eating that morning.

"Yeah." James answered, deciding that it was best for him to just ignore the clawing feeling in his stomach. He wasn't going to be able to keep anything down if he did try to eat in all likelihood.

Nerves and all of that.

Qrow tilted his head slightly and pursed his lips, like he wanted to say something, but didn't do so. He set his drink down on the counter and just watched James.

All at once, James became terribly aware of the fact that he wasn't currently wearing a glove to hide his right side. Earlier, he hadn't thought that it would be a big deal at all, but now he wasn't feeling that confidence so much.

"I'll be upstairs." James mumbled as he tugged down on his right sleeve again and left the kitchen and Qrow alone.

He didn't go far. He just went upstairs so that he could at the very least get dressed in something that would be easy to switch in and out of later on in the night when the job was over and it was time for him to get home without getting noticed.

In the end, James' choice of clothing ended up being a pair of slacks that made him feel like he was passable as a businessman and a sweater that was heavy enough to hide his prosthetics.

James stood at his closet for a little longer than he should have. He sorted through what was in his wardrobe, knowing that he probably wasn't going to be finding anything of use there.

Ultimately, James knew that he was just stalling until it was time for him to go back down and face Qrow again.

For some reason, all of his nerves were getting brought up at once and James really didn't want to know why that was becoming an issue for him.

Normally, things like people being in his house wouldn't bother him, but Qrow was-

He shook the thought from his head as he grabbed a pair of socks. James seated himself on the edge of his bed and slipped one over his prosthetic foot first- if for no reason other than not having to see it anymore that morning.

Once both of his feet were covered, James found his good watch and a clean pair of gloves.

He could make it through most of the day with just the one glove, but at the same time, it was entirely possible that come time for the benefit he would be able to wear a glove on each hand.

He'd just blend in better that way.

Feeling almost satisfied with his looks, James began the walk back down to the kitchen so that he could rejoin Qrow.

He'd have to get Qrow moving once the guy finished his food- James had things to do and he wasn't dumb enough to leave Qrow unattended in his house.

When James got back down to the kitchen, Qrow was shoving a fork into James' toaster to get something out.

James seriously hoped that Qrow didn't end up touching the heating elements as he did so.

Qrow looked up at him, and gave him a weird smile before focusing his efforts on the toaster again. James seated himself back at the counter where he'd been earlier and watched as Qrow made himself a plate of waffles.

"You look good." Qrow commented as he seated himself down next to James again. "So what're we doing today?" Qrow asked as he cut off a piece of the waffle on his plate with the side of his fork. "Besides work."

"Visits with the others, for starters." James mumbled. He decided not to look up and give Qrow any eye contact. "I'll have to get my dry cleaning, and we'll have to get you presentable enough that you can pass for someone that actually works at the ballroom."

Qrow groaned loudly- James smirked. He had the feeling that formal clothing wasn't exactly Qrow's thing, but he didn't want to speculate on that far too much. Qrow's business was Qrow's business.

James' main interest in the whole thing was just in keeping Qrow from getting himself- or anyone else, for that matter, killed.

The two of them didn't talk until after Qrow finished his waffles. James sat the entire while and did his best to enjoy his coffee. Qrow finished eating and slipped off to the shower so that he could at least play at being presentable for most of the morning.

James took the time while Qrow was gone to work on some chores. He focused on getting the dirtied dishes put away, and actually took out the time to write out his schedule for the day before he slipped off to his office to open up his safe.

He wasn't going to need his gun until later that night, but James didn't actually know how long he was going to be able to be at home before it was time for him to run out and actually get this job done.

In all likelihood, James was going to be able to stop home for five minutes- just long enough so that he would be able to get dressed before he ran out to catch the bus that would take him out to the warehouse.

Presumably, once he was there- that was when he and Glynda would be taking a car of their own so that they could get out of this cleanly.

James tried not to think about one of the little details that had been brought up late during the last meeting- the car was going to be wired.

Explosives in the trunk and under the frame.

The hope was that once they had everything that they needed to do out of the way and once Qrow had made sure to drive everyone off of the premises, the car that James and Glynda had arrived in would be left behind, plateless and without any trace that they'd been there.

If he was guessing correctly, that thing was going to explode at four in the morning- or whenever Ozpin said the word to make that happen.

Hopefully the carnage wouldn't be too bad.

It would just be a hole in the side of the bottom layer of a skyscraper.

There was no way that could go wrong.

Definitely not.

It was probably going to go wrong.

James did his absolute best to force that thought back from his mind. He didn't need to get bogged down in the atrocities that could happen- he needed to focus on what was planned to happen and how things were actually supposed to be going down that night. It wasn't much of a relief, but it was also the most that he could get out of this.

He finished putting away the no longer dirty dishes and made a beeline for his office. He tried to take comfort in that fact that unlike the last time that he'd been here, getting ready for a job, Qrow staying in the guest room upstairs and wouldn't run the risk of accidentally exposing himself to James like the last time.

James felt his face grow hot at the thought and did everything in his power to push the feeling away and not let himself get bogged down in it. It wasn't good to think about, it was a distraction that James, quite frankly, didn't need. He worked his way back behind the desk and sat down at the small safe that he'd stationed underneath it.

He only needed half a minute to get it open and then he was pulling out two gun cases. They weren't the exact same as last time. Last time, he'd decided on a shotgun for Qrow because it was simply the most convenient thing when firing out of a car window. James set the case that held his handgun-the gun that Ozpin had replaced a voice in the back of his mind reminded him, down on the desk before finding another case that was about the same size. He knew that it held just a simple pistol, and he doubted that Qrow was going to need it, but at the same time...

James couldn't trust that nothing would go terribly wrong.

He also found a set of straps that made up the holster that he'd be wearing underneath his coat once they got to the job. It wasn't the prettiest possible solution, but it was better than nothing- and it would put his weapon in an easily accessible location just in case.

James began to go through what he had for bullets and then nearly jolted when he heard a knock at the door. James bolted upright and his attention locked immediately onto Qrow, who was standing there looking like he expected for James to say something to him.

James couldn't think of anything.

"Hey," Qrow finally said, rubbing at his dark hair and making it go wilder than it should have otherwise. "Doing alright?"

"Yeah." James forced the word out and stood upright. "Just getting ready."

Qrow looked the desk over and then looked up at James with a look in his eyes that could only be described as worry. Qrow stepped into the office and approached the edge of the desk, which he decided to lean against. The thin man crossed his arms over his chest and just scanned everything that was there as though he was looking for something that would answer a question to the universe that James would have been unable to answer for himself.

"So... all this?"

"We need to be prepared."

Qrow frowned and leaned back against the desk. James watched as he reached out and picked up one of the two guns and began to turn it over in his hands like he was looking for something there.

Qrow looked wrong with a gun in his hands. James had the feeling that Qrow had never ended up needing one before, but at the same time he knew that there wasn't exactly a good way that he could go ahead and ask about it. He stood up and began to sort through everything. He approached Qrow and reached out for the gun.

Realizing what it was that James was silently asking him for, Qrow offered the gun by the barrel. James took it.

"We have things to do." James said as he set the gun back down in its case. He sighed heavily and then looked at the door to his office. It was probably for the best that the two of them get out for the day soon so that they could be prepared once it was actually time for them to go to work and get things going.

"Right."

James and Qrow's eyes locked for just a moment before James pulled himself away from the situation and led Qrow outside so that they could finally go out and do their errands for the day. 


	33. Countdown

At six o'clock at night, James called a cab to bring him and Qrow to the grocery store that was near the warehouse.

The hope was that the two of them wouldn't look too conspicuous, with James in his suit and with his hair brushed back as neatly out of his face as it could be (though he didn't expect that to last,) and Qrow even looked like he was clean shaven and ready to take on the world for himself. The nice slacks, shirt, and vest that he'd been crammed into definitely helped with the effect.

James did his best not to think about that too much.

Mostly, he was too stuck in his head about his worries over what was going to happen at the benefit.

James and Qrow didn't talk for a solid hour before they arrived at the warehouse. There was no small amount of nerves that was making concentrating on anything other than what was coming - the job, impossible.

The pair arrived at the grocery store. They were going to have to take that footpath that they'd taken on the way back to the warehouse the last time that they were on a job. This time, James didn't need to stop against the rocks so that he could calm down the ache that had worked its way into his hips or up his right leg. This time, he was able to just keep going down the path.

James tried not to be too aware of Qrow's presence beside him the entire time. It left him feeling both unsettled and comforted.

But Qrow was his partner and he wasn't leaving him behind or cutting him off.

Unlike the last time that the two of them had arrived for a job, they hadn't been the last ones to arrive.

This evening things were already in motion, everyone preparing for the night ahead.

James kept his head up and managed to make out the sight of Glynda, wearing the long purple gown that the two of them had agreed would make the best outfit for the evening ahead. It would turn just the right number of heads without drawing too much attention on them that they didn't mean.

In the end, it was the perfect look for the role that Glynda had been assigned.

Winter was conspicuously absent. James had expected that for the most part. She would probably arrive with her father at the benefit, put on the role of the pretty daughter that was treated as a trophy, and then just funnel information back and forth to Glynda in the woman's bathroom, and through Glynda, that information would get to James.

Either that or she would be able to act as a information courier through her phone- lord knew she was already always connected to it.

For a moment James became suffocatingly aware of his age.

The front to the warehouse was open, and through the bushes James could make out the sight of the nose of a limousine poking out of it. He felt some worry begin to pool in his stomach and let his eyes drift over to Qrow, who had seemed to brighten at the realization that this was going to be the car that he took to this job in the end.

On one hand, James couldn't exactly blame Qrow for it. It wasn't every day that someone got to drive a limo.

That said, James just hoped that Qrow would actually be able to pull driving it off without getting anyone killed.

Ozpin's last words to him at the obelisk came flooding back to James.

It wouldn't do if you were to crash.

He hesitated, hanging back along the edge of the trail as Qrow walked forward. James slipped his hands down into his pockets- there was a spare glove waiting there for him to slip onto his left hand when it was finally time for him to go to work. He had to fight the voice in the back of his head that said that his hands were just going to look as wrong and as uneven as they usually did when James was without the singular glove, which usually was just enough to make it look like there was proper flesh underneath instead of cold metal.

With a glove on his left, they would match, but it was possible that the illusion would be gone.

Qrow raised a hand and was greeted by Roman, who was dressed to fit in perfectly at any social gathering. He saw Glynda step up to their sides and then felt the weight of her eyes on him.

James inhaled deeply and joined the group.

Roman snapped his attention straight onto James and let an all too devilish grin split his face. "Well hello handsome." Roman stepped in towards James just a bit. "It has been a while, hasn't it?"

James became acutely aware of the fact that the tips of his ears were starting to burn as his skin began to flush out of sheer embarrassment. He tried to put on the best business face that he possible could- the kind that was steely and couldn't be gotten through with simple flirtations like the kind that Roman liked to throw around.

Not that he had the best idea as to why Roman's flirting was affecting him at all.

"I suppose it has." James said, coughing slightly before turning his eyes onto the scowling Glynda. "Though tonight I'm a married man."

"Such a shame." Roman said, grinning widely. "You clean up so nicely."

"Roman, you're engaged."

"Yes." A voice said, much lower and gruffer than just about anyone else's. James looked over at Roman and saw the way that the redhead flushed red and turned to look up at Junior. Junior stepped in and wrapped his arms around Roman before pulling his fiance in. "And I'm not too fond of sharing."

Roman frowned. "If anything is a real shame, it's that."

James turned his attention away from Roman- he figured that he wasn't going to be missing much of anything. He looked into Glynda's eyes. "You ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, James."

James nodded in understanding. He shoved his hands down deep into his pockets and began the walk inside so that he could find the car that he and Glynda would inevitably use. He made a point not to let his eyes stray over to Qrow until he'd passed him by.

He stepped into the warehouse with Glynda at his side. Inside, there were a set of a few vehicles. The first, was the limousine that James had already noticed. The second was a simple sedan- nothing fancy, just black. It looked like the plates had been attached to it by magnets, and James was willing to bet that this car was going to be his and Glynda's.

"What do you know about it?"

"Charges under the gas tank and in the trunk." Glynda answered, plainly. "Not much to be worried about other than getting there, James. You know that."

"I do." James answered with a sigh. He walked up to the side of the car and saw that inside, there wasn't really anything that would mark the car as one that actually belonged to anyone. The only thing that was slightly out of place was the fact that there was a high quality black leather handbag sitting in the passenger's seat.

That was the first lynchpin to this plan.

He opened the door to the car and climbed into the driver's side. He inhaled deeply and began to move the mirrors and his seat so that he could be comfortable in the little time that he was going to be spending in the car.

Glynda climbed into the passenger's seat beside him and flipped down the sun visor in front of her. A slip of paper fell out and down into her lap.

James and Glynda both exchanged a look. James swallowed visibly and tried to hide how nervous that alone had just made him about the whole thing.

"Ozpin." Glynda said, unfolding the note. "Typical of them."

"Have you heard from them?"

Glynda was quiet for a long moment, and James already got the feeling that whatever the answer actually was, he wasn't sure that he wanted to know what it was. Either Ozpin had been here and Glynda had met with them, or they were remaining as hard to get ahold of and missing as they always did.

James didn't actually know which he expected more with recent events being taken into consideration.

It occurred to him that Ozpin may have been making a power play by not showing up with everyone else.

"They were in long enough to make sure that things were in order." Glynda answered as evenly as she could. James looked over at her. She folded the note and held it out to James between two fingers. "They send their regards."

With a heavy sigh, James took the note and unfolded it for himself. It was essentially what Glynda had said, mostly just a message about how Ozpin hoped that they would see success on this job. James inhaled deeply and folded it back up before stashing it away in the breast pocket of his suit.

"I suppose that the two of us should probably consider leaving soon?" James asked, quietly.

"We're supposed to drop Junior off first, then bring Roman in so that he can start working the coat room and get the bag into place." Glynda said. "Qrow will be driving in on his own."

"And then we show up when it's time for the guests to arrive."

"Precisely."

James nodded. He let his eyes drift back over to Glynda, who was fixing her hair in the mirror in the visor. She looked beautiful, was the first thing that James thought. She looked like she truly belonged at a high society dinner, despite the fact that James knew her to be a physics professor at a university.

There was a part of him that suspected that out of all of them, Glynda may be the only one that actually fit her casting.

James certainly didn't know how well he was going to be able to play the part himself. James just knew that he was supposed to pretend to be a businessman that was too wrapped up in his work to pay his wife any attention. It wasn't going to be the hardest part that he'd ever play, but he could make it happen.

James became vaguely aware of the fact that Glynda had reached out for his face and had gently cupped his jaw in her hands. She turned his face so that he looked at her directly. He blinked twice, and tried not to make eye contact, even as Glynda began to fix his hair.

He knew that it would just end up falling out of place in no time anyways.

"You shouldn't worry, James." Glynda said, quietly. "We'll have more support on this job than we usually do."

James pulled away from Glynda and shook his head. "It's not that simple Glynda, you know that."

"I know that you're afraid of nothing." Glynda answered. "James. It's going to go better than you think it is. I know that things have been... difficult since..."

"Glynda..."

"I just want you to know that I know you are capable of this." Glynda murmured before she finally looked away from James. "Do you want to go get Junior?"

"I'd love to." James said. He thought about how he could actually deal with this for a second. If he wanted to, he could have just hit the horn on the car, but then he risked exposing them by making too much noise. He got out of the car and walked towards where Junior was standing with Qrow and Roman, talking and laughing the entire time.

James stopped when he was several feet away from them and coughed so that he could catch all of their attention.

"Junior."

Junior looked over at him and nodded. James just stood out of the way and watched as Junior pressed a kiss to Roman's lips- a quiet goodbye, James knew partially. He didn't want to think about it that way, but they were at a point where none of them could pretend that it wasn't a risk for any of them.

They all seemed more likely to give proper goodbyes ever since James' crash.

Junior joined James after a moment, and then the two of them began the walk towards the car where Glynda was inevitably going to be waiting.

James took the driver's seat, while Junior clambered into the back. For just a second, James couldn't help but to notice how ridiculous he looked in the back seat. Junior didn't fit there, he was hunched over awkwardly, and it just looked wrong.

James tried very hard not to let himself get too amused by the cramped form of Junior. Instead, he just focused on the drive ahead of them and tried to keep his head in gear. As a result, the drive across town to get to the Salem Group headquarters was one that was almost methodical. While James drove, Glynda was mentioning side routes and Junior was talking about what his evening was supposed to look like.

All in all, they weren't much in the way of distractions, but James didn't mind that so much. This wasn't about getting distractions- if anything, this was just about completing a mission objective. This was about proving that he could in fact do his own driving on a job if he had to- even if his hands would shake the entire time and he would grip the steering wheel so hard that he could hear it creak underneath his right hand.

James didn't let himself pay enough attention to Junior and Glynda to figure out whether or not they'd noticed.

Somehow, James did manage to get them outside of the Salem Group building, just across the street. It was only a few parking spaces away from where he and Roman had first scouted out the location.

He rolled into the parking space and put the car into park, just for the time being. He looked back over at Junior, who was in the process of taking a minute to get his hair to lie flat and taking the chance to make himself look as presentable as possible before he went in.

"You going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine." Junior murmured. He looked between James and Glynda. "I'll see you on the other side."

James tried to smile at him. "We'll meet you there."

And then that was it. Junior was getting out of the car and flattening down his shirt as he walked through traffic with no regard for whether it was allowed or not. James watched him as he walked around the side of the building and eventually dipped out of view.

He didn't move the car for a little bit. He couldn't bring himself to do it, and he didn't quite know why. James closed his eyes and leaned forward slightly, bracing himself against the steering wheel. He inhaled deeply, then counted through his exhale as he tried to calm himself down.

Next up was Roman. He was going to have to see a similar sort of drop off as Junior had, though he suspected that it wouldn't take as long. Partially because of Roman's nature and partially because getting in and out of a car wouldn't be a matter of maneuvering for Roman.

James only picked his head up when he felt the gentle weight of Glynda's hand on his right shoulder. He looked over at her. She didn't say anything, just gently massaged the shoulder and tried to work any tension out of him.

She had to notice that there was no give under her hand.

When James exhaled again it was shaky and almost even strangled.

"Are you ready?" Glynda asked, not letting up on the attempt to calm him. "Do you need to-"

"I'm fine." James mumbled. He forced himself to sit up straight and took a second to just fix his hair in the reflection of the side mirrors. He frowned, realizing that he didn't like what he saw there but tried to force it back.

Glynda pulled away, almost like she'd received an electric shock of sorts.

James put the car into drive and began the trip back to the warehouse so that they could keep on shuttling people back and forth as needed.

They didn't talk the entire time. James couldn't bring himself to, he was just wrapped too far up in his own nerves at the moment to think about much of anything other than the objective and his role.

Getting caught up in the gargantuan list of things that could go wrong was dangerous. James knew that. But he still couldn't just relax when it wasn't that simple.

James pulled into the space in front of the warehouse. Only Roman and Qrow were left there, and the two of them were sitting on the hood of the limousine and talking about something. The two of them were mid laugh when James parked.

Qrow pushed off of the limo like he didn't want to be caught making a fool of himself there. Roman just leaned back slightly and crossed one leg over the other.

"Is it time for us to go?" Roman called. "I was just starting to have fun without all of the buzzkills around."

James parked the car and turned off the ignition before climbing out and shoving his hands down as far into his pockets as he could manage. It was ultimately pretty far, but he couldn't get away from the fact that he was so worried that he almost thought he could be sick.

"We have about half an hour before you need to be there." Glynda said as she climbed out of her side of the car. "I hope you've both been getting ready?"

"I'm ready." Qrow said, stretching slightly before looking over at Roman. "And so is he."

James nodded. "Roman, get in the car."

"But-"

"Roman." James said again, this time hardening his voice like he was giving a command. "Please."

Roman's brow furrowed and he looked between James and Qrow, like he expected for something to happen. James tried not to read into it and locked his eyes onto Qrow.

"Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." Qrow said with a shrug. He stepped in towards James, and James sighed before closing the gap between the two of them until they were only a foot and a half apart.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." Qrow shrugged again. "Will you be?"

"I will in theory." James mumbled.

Qrow nodded, flattened down his clothes, then turned to get into the car that he was supposed to be bringing across town so that he could do his job. James couldn't think of anything else to say to him, and simply nodded in Qrow's direction before he turned around and climbed back into the driver's side of the car.

He inhaled deeply, and once everyone that needed to be in the car was there, James turned the key in the ignition, and he drove himself, Glynda, and Roman across town.

As he pulled out of the space in front of his warehouse, he tried not to keep his eyes trained on the limousine for too long. 


	34. Behind Bars

Qrow was wedged behind the bar in a set of too-tight clothes with no real clue as to what he was going to be doing there that evening. The fact that he was going to be serving drinks was obvious, and he knew that he was going to be leaving at some point, but for now, everything was mostly just uneasy. He'd managed to take a look at the drink menu long enough that he could fake it, but he couldn't get past the feeling that something was seriously wrong, or that things weren't going to be going according to plan.

He didn't know what it was. Maybe it was the fact that people had been streaming in through the front in their formal dress and James and Glynda were both yet to arrive, or maybe it was the fact that he'd only seen the others that he was working with in passing glances- Junior far down a hallway. Roman sliding into the coat room.

Hell, he'd even seen Winter stride in behind her father- a tall, thin rail of a man with a weirdly kept mustache and eyes and a voice that couldn't be described as anything other than cold. There was a certain sort of unkindness that radiated off of the man and was enough to leave Qrow feeling wary about how the girl was going to get through the night.

It was all wearing on him.

Any time that someone new came in, Qrow would listen for Roman's introduction and his talk that he'd give every time he took their coats, and then he'd listen for the voices that followed- Not James. Not Glynda.

For some reason, the two of them didn't arrive until a little bit later. Qrow suspected that it had to do with them wanting to look like they were truly normal guests- showing up fashionably late or something like that.

Their lack of presence left Qrow with a weird feeling building up in his chest. There was a part of him that was scared- even more scared than he'd felt on his first job, or on the last one. Maybe it was the fact that he'd been spending so much time with James beginning to catch up with him. Qrow had the feeling that what he was dealing with was just James' residual nerves.

So he tried to focus on his work, did his absolute best to pay attention to nothing more than what he had to do for now. When it was time for the job to start officially, then he figured someone would let him know.  
The big question was going to be a how by the looks of things.

Finally, he saw James and Glynda step in. James looked better than he had back at the warehouse, like he'd gone ahead to make himself look as best fit for this as possible- and looking around the room, James definitely fit in. He looked like a businessman, and Glynda was attached at his arm looking like a trophy wife.

If Qrow didn't know better, then he probably would have even been convinced by the act.

He looked around the room to check whether or not all of the pieces were in place. James and Glynda were there, Junior was off doing his patrols or something along those lines, Roman was in the coat room making sure that they got away with exactly what they needed. Winter looked like she was ready for whatever the night brought.

And Ozpin?

They were yet to be seen.

If the way that the plan had been initially laid out was any indicator, Ozpin being missing was a very bad thing. The security cameras around the place were a massive concern, and unless someone could disable them...

Qrow swallowed and paid attention to a man that had come to the bar looking for a drink, and just took the time to make sure that he could continue to play his part.

Once in a while he'd pick his head up long enough to make eye contact with one of his associates.

James would cast him a look between fake text messages, and Glynda would smile and laugh and play at trying to get her fake husband's attention back onto her.

Something about it actually was enough to make Qrow's blood boil, though he didn't know why.

Whatever it was, it was probably just a stupid feeling that he would be able to get past a bit sooner than later.

James and Glynda may have been there for about fifteen minutes when James came to the bar with Glynda at his side. He seated himself at one of the stools and Glynda slid in beside him, with her purse on her arm- part of the plan, Qrow had to remind himself.

He picked his head up and shot James a smile.

"What'll it be?"

"Scotch, on the rocks." James answered, quickly for himself before looking at Glynda. "And for you?"

"A mint julep." Glynda said, smiling.

James gave him a cocky smile that Qrow knew wasn't him. "You heard the lady."

"Of course." Qrow said, forcing a smile back. "Right away."

He turned around so that he could start preparing the drinks and vaguely made out the sound of James and Glynda playing their same act- James telling her to go enjoy herself while he got their drinks. Qrow had to try very hard not to feel frustrated or irritated by all of it.

When he turned around, only James was there, and he was opening his wallet so that he could pay for the drinks. Qrow set the two drinks down and noticed that Glynda's purse had been left there at the counter. James slid some money onto the counter and stood up, picking up the two drinks.

"Thank you."

"Of course." Qrow said, forcing that smile again. "Any time. No problem."

James smiled and turned away, leaving the bag behind and successfully acting out phase one of their plan.

Qrow cast a quick glance around the room before he reached out to take Glynda's purse and hide it behind the bar. As he picked it up by the handle, he felt something underneath the strap- like a piece of paper had been attached there with one of Roman's sewing pins.  
Instructions.

Qrow swallowed and tore the note away before sliding it into his pocket. He kicked the bag as far under the bar as he could so that he wouldn't have to worry about it at all. He'd just have to get a minute to check the note when nobody was looking. He was sure there'd be an announcement or something at some point in the night.

James had disappeared back into the crowd already.

With all of his might, he tried to fight back the sour, angry feeling that was starting to rise in his chest without explanation. He focused on his job, and just did the best he could. He may have been there for half an hour when he finally got a chance alone.

He leaned against the counter, pulled out his phone, and unfolded James' note on top of it so it would look like he was just texting.

It was written in James' handwriting- it was too neat, too careful to be anyone else's.

 _Scarecrow. The job starts when the speaker does. Keep your eyes open. If something goes wrong with Junior, you may have to step in and get him out. Don't forget your gun._

 _After you've read this, dispose of this note. Burn or flush, your choice. Just get rid of it._

 _Peacekeeper._

Qrow folded the note back away. It answered some questions, and set out the night as being a waiting game that had to be sat through. There was a part of Qrow that yearned to be out doing something else- maybe playing businessman with James or helping Roman, or even doing security with Junior.

For the first time that night, Qrow actually picked his head up so that he could get a good idea of how the room actually looked.

Dining tables were set out, with servers rushing around the room and making sure that everyone got their appetizers or whatever. At the far end of the room, opposite to where Qrow was stationed, there was a small stage that had been set up with a microphone.

Qrow cast a look around the area behind the bar counter, trying to find something like a schedule that could help him to figure out exactly how this was going to go. He felt a buzz down in his pocket from his phone, and Qrow had to fight to ignore it. There was someone coming to the counter, and he couldn't just go getting wrapped up with distractions with a non-criminal there.

The new customer took a seat at the far end of the the bar. Qrow looked at them, and quickly realized a few things. They were wearing a dark emerald colored suit, with no tie, and their hair was silver and somewhat combed down, but not by much.

"A drink, please." They asked for, cracking a slight smile in Qrow's direction.

Qrow didn't need anything to tell him who he was dealing with. Ozpin had just come to his bar, and asked for a drink. They pulled out their phone, and Qrow figured that was some sort of signal.

It may have just been Ozpin checking for information that could have been passed on to them from James.

Qrow decided that it was probably in his best interests if he just didn't question it. He just turned and focused on fixing Ozpin a drink- he was willing to bet that they would want the same thing that Glynda was supposed to be enjoying that night.

As soon as he turned around, however, Ozpin piped up to catch Qrow's attention.

"Coffee, if you have it, please." Ozpin requested. Qrow froze and set the glass that he'd picked up to fix Ozpin's drink back down. He had to take a step back from the counter and get a good look around his surroundings to figure out whether or not getting Ozpin a coffee was even possible.

The bar didn't have a coffee maker, which was about what Qrow would have expected because what kind of bar had a coffee maker there? He frowned and sighed.

"I might be able to get one from catering." Qrow said as he looked Ozpin in the eye. Ozpin didn't respond to his words, only nodded and put on a smile.

Qrow looked around to try and figure out whether or not he'd be able to get someone to watch the bar so that he could get Ozpin their damn coffee.

A woman stepped behind it and gave him a weird look, which told Qrow more than he needed to ask. He gave her a look, and she just nodded and began to take care of the bar.

Qrow didn't know whether or not she was involved in things- he was willing to bet that she wasn't, at least based on how she'd looked at him that way. He made a mental note to keep a tight ship and keep her from seeing anything that would have been considered incriminating.

His mind flashed back to the bag that he'd kicked under the bar. That had the potential to blow the whole thing out of the water if it wasn't taken care of.

Qrow's eyes slid to Ozpin as he crossed the room and passed by the tables, where a lot of people were mingling. He felt his phone buzz in his pocket again. Qrow had to think for a second before reaching down into his pocket to get the phone and check the messages that he'd received thus far that night.

The first was Roman- a group message.

 _Everyone's in the building. Keep your eyes peeled._

The second was from James.

 _The bag has been delivered. We'll be keeping our eyes open for any trouble._

Qrow pondered whether or not he should send a message out to the group. He had to stop and look back over his shoulder to see where Ozpin was sitting, and then slipped into the kitchen.

He began to type his message quickly.

 _Wizkid's at the bar. Wanted coffee._

Junior sent a message in soon.

 _Everything is mostly secure. Just waiting for the signal._

His message was quickly followed up by another from James.

 _Wait for the speaker. That's when North will make the distraction. The second bag needs to be in Baby Bear's hands as soon as it starts._

Another message came through- this one from a number that Qrow didn't necessarily recognize immediately. He looked back over his shoulder to see whether or not Ozpin was attached to their phone- they weren't.

Winter then.

 _According to my father, there'll be a speaker at 8:00 on the dot, just after dinner._

That... was actually very useful information, Qrow thought as he slid his phone back down into his pocket before stepping into the kitchen so that he could get a mug of coffee for Ozpin. He would have thought that there would have been some sort of coffee machine out for people to use at will, but Qrow didn't know really.

This wasn't his sort of scene.

Qrow did his best though. He got Ozpin their coffee then made their way back across the large dining room where everyone was milling about and talking.

When he got to the bar, Ozpin was sitting there with their phone in their hand, like they were trying to count down the clock until something happened. Qrow slid behind the counter and locked his eyes with Ozpin as he slid the mug across the counter.

"Hope it's good."

"I'm sure it'll be fine." Ozpin said, smiling slightly. "Thank you."

Qrow put himself to work and banished the person that he'd gotten to watch the bar from the scene.

Glynda stumbled up to his bar after about thirty minutes to get another drink- Qrow fixed her the same non-alcoholic drink that he was supposed to. She left the counter, leaving behind a napkin that Qrow picked up to turn over and see that a note had been left behind there for him.

 _Be ready to go as soon as the bar closes - Peacemaker._

Qrow shoved it down into his pocket.

Things went quiet for a while, and Qrow just took his time to watch the room and keep his eyes on everything that was in the room. A part of him had expected for this night to be a lot of standing around, watching, and waiting.

There was so much waiting.

When dinner was served, the bar closed for a little while. Qrow took the time to go outside like it was his smoke break and checked his phone for any messages that had come in from his coworkers. Roman was saying that the bag had been moved to a place where Junior would find it easily. James said once dinner was done, they were doing the job, and then everyone who could get out of there with the bag were getting out.

Qrow wondered how long James and Glynda would have to be there after everyone else left.

It made him worry.

Ozpin seemed to disappear from the room entirely almost as soon as dinner had started.

Qrow came back into the building at 8:00, when it was time for the speaker to come up.

A woman stepped to the front of the room, just in front of the microphone. She had white hair- almost like Winter's, Qrow thought, but she was different. This woman was probably the CEO, if Qrow had to guess. He didn't know much about the workings of the Salem Group- that was Glynda's job, not his.

She began to speak.

Qrow didn't pay attention to what was being said- he was willing to bet that it wasn't anything important. Thanks for people for showing up, that sort of thing. She probably just wanted their money.

He thought back to the thing that Winter had said during that first meeting where they'd started talking about this job. The Salem Group just wanted these people's money, and didn't particularly care about what happened to them after.

It should have been illegal. But it was white collar crime-

Not like what they did.

He shook the thought from his head.

He saw James get up and straighten his coat like he was going to the washroom, and then Glynda was getting up and stumbling towards the bar, and making as much of a disruption as she possible could.

That was it.

That was the signal.

Glynda made her way closer and closer to the bar, and that was when Qrow felt the phone vibrate in his pocket.

Time to go.

Qrow reached under the counter to find the keys to the vehicle that they'd be taking out of there. He had to be sure that his part was as ready to be played as possible.

He slipped back outside.

The phone buzzed in his pocket.

Qrow checked the message. Unknown number, probably Ozpin's.

 _The cameras are down. Get to work everyone._

Shit.

This was happening.

Qrow looked to the parking lot and found the limousine that he was supposed to be taking. His heart began to pound as he realized that he had to be able to get all of them out of there as soon as possible.

It crossed his mind for a second that it was entirely possible that the group was going to be easily pegged- or some of them would be, at least. Fake names and phones only went so far.

But faces…

Shit, this was very bad.

Qrow tried to act as normally as possible, and he walked out to the parking lot and climbed into the limousine that he was supposed to be taking.

They had ten minutes, tops.

Junior was going to get the bag, send it down to coat check, and then James was going to have to make an early exit with Glynda, who was going to be playing so drunk that there wasn't getting past it.

Roman was leaving when Junior was.

He was the one getting them all out.

The phone buzzed again, and Qrow looked at the message there. It was from Junior.

 _I can't get it open_

Qrow felt his heart stop.

He didn't know how they were going to be getting out of this now. As Qrow climbed into the front seat, he looked back over his shoulder to see that there were sets of street clothes sitting in the back seat.

They might only have enough time to get dressed, take the limousine, ditch it somewhere, and run.

This was very, very bad.

He climbed into the back of the limo and began to change what clothes he could. He still had to look like he was a driver once they left, but he could at least get into clothes that he could run in.

He wasted no time, slipping out of the nice pair of black slacks that he'd come to the benefit in before slipping into a pair of jeans and sliding into the front seat. Qrow had a death grip on the steering wheel, his heart was pounding, and he knew that there was absolutely no turning back from this now.

He just hoped that things were going okay inside.


	35. Locked Up

"You know, getting angry doesn't solve anything." A voice came from behind a bathroom stall. James tried not to pay them- Ozpin , any attention. James figured that they'd just set up shop there because it was out of the way and nobody would notice their absence if they'd slipped off to the bathroom.

James tried not to focus on Ozpin's presence too much as he tried to deal with what was now happening.

He had a death grip on his phone, his heart was pounding, and he knew that there was absolutely no turning back from this now.

Things weren't going to be okay.

Junior's part of the mission was starting to crash and burn, and somebody had to get in there and rescue him- and that person was going to have to be James.

The weight of James' gun in its holster against his chest became more present in a way.

He tried to swallow his fear as he thought out the best way that he could get to Junior without getting noticed.

There were options- not many of them, but there were options. What it came down to was the fact that James was going to have to inevitably make some difficult choices that could make or break this whole thing.

He just had to get to Junior without getting noticed first.

The best option would just be to slip away to where nobody was looking, and get to Junior using elevators so that the two of them could crack the safe together.

High risk.

High reward.

"How long will the cameras be off?" James growled at Ozpin, who was still in a bathroom stall. If James had to guess, he would have said that Ozpin was probably in there with a tablet or something controlling this whole thing remotely. Being the eyes that they couldn't get by just being present in a ballroom.

"Ten minutes." Ozpin answered. "Though I should be able to repeat the code and-"

"If you can, buy me twenty-"

"I'll do my very best."

And that was it. There wasn't anything more that James could have said to them about this whole job. They were buying him time, and he was also willing to bet that they were also going to go ahead and wipe any camera feeds before they left as well.

All the more to keep them from getting caught.

James inhaled deeply, and was about to leave the bathroom when he heard Ozpin's voice one last time.

"Good luck, James."

James' hand hovered over the doorknob and finally he answered Ozpin. "Thank you."

He pushed the door open.

On the way out of the bathroom, James took a second to peer into the dining room, where Glynda was playing her part perfectly. He just hoped that nobody would go looking for the drunk woman's husband among the crowd only to find that he'd gone missing as some point over the course of the night.

James turned his head and peered down the long hallway at his side before stepping down it as quietly as he possibly could in an effort to avoid notice.

It turned into a cat and mouse game of sorts- James found himself ducking out of the way and trying to avoid notice a lot more than he was doing anything else. There was a lot of it- watching for security and getting by as silently as possible when they passed.

Somehow, he managed to find a maintenance stairwell that looked like it wasn't being paid much attention. It wasn't the most ideal solution that James could have thought of, but at the same time, it was better than nothing.

His replaced hip was going to take revenge on him for this later. James was sure of it.

It took a few minutes, but he did manage to make himself up to the same floor that Junior was on. He was exchanging texts with the group the entire while that he was travelling.

There wasn't much that was said- or even could be said, really. Ultimately, it was fast status reports to make sure that things were going to be okay on every other front. Roman had made sure that the bag that he'd needed had been delivered, Qrow was ready for the getaway, and Winter was keeping her eyes open for trouble in the ballroom.

Ozpin remained unavailable despite everything. James figured they were dedicating all of their resources towards one thing instead of taking texts.

Which meant that it was down to him and Junior.

James reached the top floor, and saw Junior slide halfway out of the office door to catch his attention.

He made a beeline in and then Junior closed the door behind the two of them. Sure enough, sitting on the desk was the bag that Roman had brought- identical to Glynda's in every way.

And there on the wall, looking like it had been hidden behind a painting, was their safe.

James locked his eyes with Junior. "Keep watch."

Junior nodded and went to the door. James went to work.

He pulled the purse open and reached in, searching for any tools that could have helped. Finding them, James put himself to work at disengaging the lock.

He'd seen this sort of safe in the past- two types of authentication needed to get in. On one front, it needed a passcode, and on the other it needed a key. The normal lock he could deal with, the passcode though-

"Get Ozpin on the phone." James growled the order at Junior as he looked at the desk and found a paperclip lying on top of it. He quickly straightened it as fast as he could, grabbed a second, and set to work on the manual lock. "I'm going to need them."

"Are you-"

" Yes ." James answered. "Just do it."

Junior nodded and reached into his pocket to get his phone.

James didn't need to watch to know that Junior was doing as he'd been asked. He just focused on the lock picking, and when the phone was brought to him, Ozpin was on speaker.

"Peacemaker, is something wrong?"

"Yes." James growled. "The safe requires a keycode, and I don't have the resources to get through it on me."

"So what do you-"

"You're a hacker, aren't you?" James growled. "I need you to access my home computer remotely if you can."

"James, that will take time." Ozpin answered, all too calmly. "You could always go for more... conventional methods."

James looked back over his shoulder at the purse. When he'd reached in, there had been much more than just the fake books that had been made. James had tried not to think about it, since things would be too messy with all likelihood.

Bombs. Small ones, but they were bombs nonetheless.

"If you want this to be a clean job, you have to work with me on this." James said. "You want us all caught? 'Conventional methods' are how that'll happen."

On the other end of the line, Ozpin almost sounded frustrated, but James was also beyond caring. There was no way that they were getting this safe out of the wall or setting off explosions without people noticing them.

This was supposed to be discreet.

"Can you do it?" James growled as his eyes slid over to the keypad that was attached to the side of the safe. He remembered when this model had first been introduced, but he hadn't thought that it would get popular at all.

Though, most of what he had worked on when he was still involved in designing the damn things had been things for storing people's guns and places that people could hide things under floorboards.

Not things like this.

"Yes." Ozpin finally said, though they didn't necessarily sound like they were as confident as they could have been.

Junior leaned in next to James and slid over a sheet of paper- lock combinations were written across it that couldn't be used with this sort of lock. James remembered when they'd worked these out together in his office.

James shook his head and focused on the safe more, trying to figure out if there was going to be any way that the two of them could deal with this quickly or at the very least efficiently.

He swallowed and put in a code- four 0s, the standard for new safes. He doubted that it would work, but it was worth a shot.

And exactly as expected, nothing happened.

"I've obtained access." Ozpin finally announced, snapping James' attention back to them.

"Good." James growled. His eyes slid to the desk behind him, and James couldn't help but to wonder whether or not there was going to be any hints there.

Unlikely.

"What am I looking for?"

James inhaled deeply. "Command prompt. Run ."

"I have it."

"Good." James said. "Input the address for the building there, if the safe is registered, it should bring up its serial number."

"What does that have to-"

"Just do it. Put in the address, and let me know what comes up."

It went quiet. James listened in for any sign that something was happening other than the sound of Ozpin's keyboard clicking and clacking.

He didn't know how much time they had left at this point.

And he couldn't exactly check whether or not things were going well downstairs while he had Ozpin on the line.

"I've got it." Ozpin said. "There should be three safes in the building."

Shit, of course.

"Start from the top." James commanded. "Just read me the serial number."

And they did just that. James entered the number into the safe alongside Ozpin's words, and wasn't surprised when nothing happened. He swore quietly under his breath. "Next one."

Ozpin read the second.

Nothing.

By process of elimination, that meant that the last one had to be the number that they were looking for.

"Okay." James said, quietly, his eyes flashing back over his shoulder to where Junior was nervously looking out the door. "Last one."

Ozpin read the third serial number, slowly, and James entered it in.

There was a quiet click, and the door opened.

Sure enough, just inside there were two business ledgers.

Jackpot .

James switched the ledgers with the ones that the group had brought with them and stood up straight before sliding the real ones into the purse.

He stood up, and closed the safe before locking it shut like he had done to a thousand safes a thousand times before. His eyes scanned the room to make sure that nothing looked like it was amiss. He placed the painting where it had been over the safe, and that was it.

"We've got it." James said into the phone. "Alert everyone that we're clearing out."

With that, James hung up the phone and looked at Junior. "I'm a man looking for his drunk wife, you're the security guy who found me, got it?"

"Sounds good." Junior said before reaching out and grabbing James by the right arm. James felt himself go rigid over it almost automatically, but forced that feeling back. This wasn't a time to be thinking about the prosthetics. The two of them began the walk down to the dining room, where sure enough- there was quite a commotion.

James stepped in and grabbed Glynda by the arm. "Sweetheart, I think it's time to go-"

"But my purse-"

"I got it." James said, wrapping his arm around Glynda so that the two of them could at least play at being a proper couple. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Winter sending a text- probably letting the others know that the job was done.

He and Glynda walked by the coat room, where Roman was.

He and Roman locked eyes just long enough to silently say that it was time to go.

Roman began to make a show out of how he had to go, his shift was over and the babysitter would be leaving any minute. A quick look back over his shoulder had Roman leaving the building.

Junior followed him and Glynda out like he was escorting them. They walked around the side of the building together to find the limo that Qrow had been sent with was there, waiting.

James and Glynda got into the back, just after Roman and closely followed by Junior.

That just left Ozpin and Winter to worry about.

The kid wasn't going to be the biggest concern- James knew that in the back of his mind. Winter was capable at the best of times and since she was there with family and not outwardly working with anyone, it meant that she could leave with her family and nothing would be amiss.

Ozpin though...

James figured they'd play a guest who had gotten caught up in the bathroom- maybe blame it on the hors d'oeuvres.

He closed the door behind him.

Everyone looked at James like they were looking for some sort of order from him.

James couldn't help but think that it all felt a little too familiar.

He swallowed, and looked at Qrow.

"Go."

"You sure Jimmy?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." James answered as he began to shrug out of his suit coat so that he could look like he wasn't coming from an upper class dinner on the way home.

"Alright."

Qrow pulled out of the parking lot, and James looked back over his shoulder to see Ozpin, stepping outside without a care in the world.

Good.

He looked back around everyone that was in the limo and had to think of something- anything that he could have said to them to lay out what their next part of the objective would be.

"We're losing the limo." James started. "I don't know where, but we'll find a place. Burner phones go in when we..."

"We're blowing it, aren't we?" Roman asked as he slipped on a shirt that made him look rather good, at least in James' opinion. Not that he knew why he was thinking about it. "I love fireworks."

"It's standard procedure and you know that." Glynda said, sitting upright and pulling her hair down from the elaborate hairstyle that she'd decided on for that night.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Roman answered as he stood up halfway to wriggle out of his slacks. "Whatever."

James did his best not to pay them any mind before he looked over at Qrow, who was looking back at the rest of them over his shoulder.

"Start driving." James said, almost as a command. "Try to get us off of any main roads, and then we'll work from there."

Qrow nodded, turned, and started the vehicle, and soon the entire group was on the move.

James tried not to let himself get lost in the fact that this was the part where things could really start to fall apart. If Qrow couldn't actually handle the damn vehicle, they were gone for. He felt the hairs stand up on the back of his neck, and some sort of fear began to grip him with the realization that they could be going into another crash.

No .

Bad thoughts.

Roman was dressed now like a civilian. He flopped back into the seats next to Junior, who simply had to change his shirt. Glynda was in the process of pulling on pants and tearing off the lower half of her gown with quick, practiced motions. James knew that she was probably going to pull on a blouse over it.

James looked down at his own clothes and felt the fear grip him. He was theoretically going to have to change himself, but he didn't know how he was supposed to get past that. He had what were clearly dress pants on, but his jacket and shirt were probably going to have to go.

In the end, James opted to simply pull on a sweater over his dress shirt once his jacket and tie were abandoned.

He seated himself as close to Qrow as he possibly could manage, since it meant that he didn't have to worry about having to yell directions to Qrow. James kept his eyes open, but he found himself gripping the side of Qrow's seat a little harder than he should have.

"Doing okay there Jim?" Qrow asked, not pulling his eyes away from the road.

"I'll be fine." James mumbled. His eyes fell on a road that James recognized- he was pretty sure that it would bring them towards the river, but he wasn't sure how well they'd be able to get away without being noticed. It wasn't great, but it was an option.

"Take the road on the right." James mumbled.

Qrow raised an eyebrow, but he said nothing. He made the turn, and James watched the scenery carefully until he was sure that there was a good drop off point for them. But he did know Atlas pretty well- he'd called it home over the course of his entire life, regardless of whether it actually truly felt like a home or not.

"What are we looking for, Jim?"

"There should be a hill." James said, pulling on his memories of the area as best as he could. "The river should be at the bottom. If you can park us perpendicular to the river at the top of the hill, we should be able to push the damn thing down to the river."

"And how are we going to get away from there?"

James felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, and he couldn't help but think to check it. He doubted that it would be helpful, but at the same time...

He removed his phone and checked his messages. The new message was coming from a number that James didn't recognize, but it was extremely clear.

I've been tracking you. I can arrange a pickup at your location at any time- The Wizard.

James swallowed, wondering how the hell Ozpin was tracking them, but he got the feeling that it probably had to do with the vehicle itself. Ozpin did arrange all of the cars for these jobs, so James definitely figured that they probably were looking after them.

"We'll have a way out." James said, trying to make himself sound as confident as he could possibly manage. He knew that it probably didn't sound very convincing, but James didn't know whether or not letting the group know that Ozpin was currently tracking them was such a good idea.

"What-"

"You're... going to have to trust me." James said, hardening his voice but lowering his volume. "Please."

Qrow almost seemed to hesitate, but he did listen. He drove them down the road, and followed James' instructions until they were at the top of the hill.

Qrow pulled in carefully, and that was when the work started. He put the car into neutral, and the entire group got out, went to the back, and began to push until the limousine was on its way down the hill and into the river.

It landed there with a loud splash. James watched as it began to slowly sink down into the water, then reached into his pocket to send Ozpin a message that simply said that they needed a ride if they were going to be getting out of this cleanly.

Ozpin didn't reply.

James looked around the group before tossing his phone down to the limo so that he wouldn't be able to be tracked with it so easily.

"So, what's next, Jim?" Qrow asked, standing behind him. James blinked and looked amongst all of them. Glynda was carrying the bag with the real business ledgers in it, Roman looked normal, and Junior looked like a typical working class type. Qrow also looked normal.

James got the feeling that he was probably a little bit out of place.

"We start walking back the way that we came." James said, hardening his voice. "We'll be able to get out of here."

"Did you just have us do that just because-"

" No. " James snapped back. "Glynda has the detonator, and we're going to have a way out. You just have to trust me, I meant that when I said it."

Roman looked highly skeptical, but he shrugged and stepped a little bit closer to James. "I can trust you on this, Jim." He shrugged. "You always have been the in the moment guy."

"I'm with you if Roman is." Junior said, sounding a little worried.

Glynda just nodded.

Qrow looked between all of them, shrugged, and then they all started the walk. They were going to be blowing up the limousine as soon as they were out of the area and didn't have much to worry about.

James didn't let himself think about the fact that he was leading them through this.

His main concern was getting them all home safe.

They didn't have to go far or walk long. However, it was made painfully obvious fairly early that none of them were really in the mood to just talk about what was going on. Things were too strange, too disorganized.

They didn't know how they were getting out of this unnoticed, and James didn't even know for sure.

That was, until a dark green minivan with tinted windows pulled up in front of them, and behind the wheel sitting and looking as comfortable as they could be, was Ozpin.

Ozpin pulled onto the side of the road, just in front of them, and for a minute everyone in the group hesitated as they questioned whether or not seeing Ozpin like this was a good thing or not. But Ozpin didn't say anything, they just honked the horn of the car, and that was it.

James ended up taking shotgun- he needed to feel physically comfortable after work and nobody was going to question him on that particular sort of need, which was always a comfort. The rest of them all piled into the van, and as soon as the door was closed, they were moving.

"Nice work." Ozpin said, keeping their voice even. "A little more trouble in some places than we would have liked, but-" they cracked a small smile that James noticed out of the corner of his eye. "I think that overall we can call this a success."

James swallowed, and leaned back into his seat slightly. "Where are you taking us?"

"The warehouse, your homes, restaurants." Ozpin answered, as cryptic as they ever were. "Wherever you prefer, I suppose."

James looked back over his shoulder to see that Qrow was sitting there, squished between Junior and the window and looking not very comfortable at all. It wasn't a good thing, James thought, but at the same time, there was the fact that he could offer Qrow a place to stay for another night.

Qrow probably needed it, and driving out to Vale may not have been on the list of things that Ozpin was willing to do at this point. James figured that inviting Qrow to stay with him for another night probably wouldn't hurt, and the two of them could go back to Vale together before going their separate ways.

James was pretty sure he had Penny soon- maybe they'd be able to make plans to get the girls together.

James hoped that they would be able to get the girls together again. It had made Penny so happy to be able to spend time with kids her age.

And James couldn't bear to see her unhappy.

He swallowed and looked back forward onto the road, feigning like nothing was wrong because that simply was the most comfortable way for him to do much of anything these days.

Ozpin's voice broke him out of the haze of his own mind.

"So," their mysterious silver haired leader began. "Who'll be first?"

In the backseat, Roman and Junior exchanged a look, and then Roman spoke up, quite clearly. "That'll be the two of us."

"Where should I put you?"

"Candle street." Roman said. "You can just drop us off at a convenience store if that's what's best."

"Very well." Ozpin said, correcting their course and continuing along the way. Somehow, James managed to actually relax a bit as a result of how normal Ozpin was being about the whole thing. He hadn't been expecting anything like that.

James locked his eyes with Qrow's. "Need a place to stay tonight?"James asked, keeping his volume low and letting his eyes flick among the rest of the people that were win the vehicle for a second, just to make sure that none of them were reading into it. "Because..."

"Yeah, I don't think I'm going to be able to make it back to Vale tonight anyways." Qrow said, shrugging and leaning back in his seat so that he was angled in a way that looked a bit less uncomfortable. "You mind?"

"No." James answered. "I don't think I do."

"Sounds good then, Jimmy."

James shook his head, and couldn't help but to wonder why Qrow was using that damned nickname. It was possible that it was just a way to deflect the others from thinking that there was any sort of feeling between the two of them but-

James cut that line of thought off before it could get too dangerous.

There wasn't anything between the two of them, James reminded himself.

Friendship.

"My name is James. " James growled the words as he usually did- though this time there was a certain sort of playfulness to it. He tried not to notice the way that Qrow seemed to stiffen slightly at the sound.

James rolled his eyes and looked back forward so that he could just watch the streets and see if it helped him to relax at all. He found himself leaning back into the seat and letting his eyes flick shut.

His back ached, his right arm had a bit of a twinge in it, but he was mostly going to be okay. Just exhaustion setting in.

It had been a long night.

The ride for Ozpin to drop everyone off was relatively quick, and then when it was time for James and Qrow to get out at James' home, he got out slowly, trying not to accidentally tweak anything that he didn't want to.

Qrow got out beside him and put his heads back behind his head in a way that made him look entirely too relaxed.

Neither of them said anything. James just turned and lead the way inside before making a beeline for his kitchen.

"Thank god." Qrow muttered as he followed James in. "I want real food."

"Right." James said, holding back a slight smile. 


	36. Celebrations and Temptations

Qrow sat cross legged on James' couch and leaned back into it as James seated himself beside him with two plates of food. It wasn't anything fancy- just some roast beef sandwiches and some boxed macaroni and cheese that had been lying around James' cupboards. Qrow didn't mind that it was such simple food, it was a meal after a long day of work.

The two plates made their way down onto James' coffee table and Qrow reached out for one of them. He'd offered to help James with the cooking, but James hadn't been hearing any of it. Qrow figured it was because James didn't enjoy having to share a kitchen. While James had cooked, he'd sat on the couch trying to relax and just rest.

Qrow leaned back into the couch as he took his plate in his hands and made himself as comfortable as possible. However, considering the stress of the night, and everything that had happened, falling into a routine as he and James had was just about the most comfortable thing possible.

He picked up his fork and began to eat. He couldn't help but to think how different it was tonight as opposed to the last time that they'd finished a job. Last time, James had been in so much pain that doing anything like making dinner was completely out of the question. Last time, James and Qrow had both ended up asleep on Roman and Junior's couch, if only for a little while.

But this time, things were going differently in a few other ways. There was going to be no elevators to trap the two of them in with strange interpersonal tension. There was going to be nobody else there to bother them.

No.

This time, it was just the two of them in James' house, on James' couch, enjoying a simple meal.

Come time for bed, Qrow was going to go upstairs to the tiny bedroom that James had decided he was allowed to use. Qrow didn't quite feel comfortable in that space yet, but it was nice, and compact, and it was his- at least it was for now. Being able to sleep on something that wasn't a couch was always a relief.

"Thanks." Qrow mumbled, just loud enough that he was able to catch James' attention long enough for James to look over at him.

James picked his head up and their eyes met. Qrow sucked a breath in, realizing how impossibly blue James' eyes were as though he had never noticed it before. He had. He didn't know what felt different about it this time.  
"It's no problem." James mumbled, quietly. He put on a smile that Qrow could easily describe as a gentle one. It was definitely the kindest James had ever looked without any kids around. "The food's okay, I hope?"

Qrow blinked and looked down at the plate. It wasn't anything special, but it was good. It was old fashioned comfort food, like the kind that he and Raven would have shared when they were younger. "Yeah, it's great, Jim." Qrow chuckled. "How are you feeling about-"

"Not good." James said. Qrow watched the way that James set everything down, almost like he had just lost his appetite. James leaned back onto the couch and closed his eyes, not wanting to face what was going on. "There's a lot that... didn't work out so well, Qrow."

Qrow looked down at his food, and then sighed before also setting his down on the table in front of him. He leaned back into the couch as far back as he could, until he and James were half-lying shoulder to shoulder. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I don't know." James mumbled through his exhaustion. "It depends on whether or not Ozpin did their job."

"What do we do if we get found out?"

Dead silence.

"I don't know." James whispered. His eyes opened again, and Qrow watched the way that those blue eyes scanned over everything in the room. Every book, every photograph. Like James was drinking in every single memory that he'd ever made over the course of his life. "I guess we wouldn't have much than we were able to do other than just... run."

"Where would we go?"

"I don't know."

"...Would you be willing to run?"

James was silent. "I don't know."

Qrow figured that was probably an answer that he should have expected, at least on some level. James wasn't the type that normally would have wanted to deal with him, or wouldn't have wanted to talk about these sorts of things.

He turned, shifting his entire body enough so that he and James could see each other face to face and talk about what had happened. Qrow didn't quite know why he did it, it was just that he didn't want to have this conversation in such an impersonal manner. Qrow just needed the closeness.

"James-"

"Yeah?" James turned his head, now facing Qrow directly. His black hair fell back out of his face in a way that almost made him look comfortable.

"If you had to run, you know, I think I'd be willing to go with you." Qrow mumbled. "Getting found out.. I'd lose my family too. I figure that if things to go shit-"

"Might as well try and get out of it with someone else, right?" James mumbled. "I couldn't run long, Qrow. You do realize that, right?"

"What?"

"My painkillers." James said, his voice just barely over a whisper. "If I can't get them, then I can't do anything. I'm..." James paused, like he was just looking for anything that he could say that made him feel good. "Qrow, I'm almost dependent on them. They're the reason I'm able to make it from day to day a lot of the time."

"I get being dependent on stuff, Jim-"

"Not like that." James said. "I'm not addicted, it's just that I can't get by when I'm in that much pain."

The room went silent. James turned his face away from James' and stared up at the ceiling above him. He let his eyes scan over the speckled plane, and tried everything in his power to try and think of something that he could say to diffuse the awkwardness. Qrow swallowed visibly, and hoped that James didn't notice it.

There were so many things that he wanted to say or to do, but Qrow couldn't think of any of them. Nothing would ever be enough. Nothing would reach so deeply that it would be able to say what Qrow actually wanted to.

He let his eyes slip shut and exhaled slowly.

James picked his head up. "Qrow?"

"Yes?" Qrow asked, perking up and sitting up slightly. "Something wrong?"

"I don't know." James mumbled, quietly. He shifted, and Qrow watched the way that James supported his head on his closed fist. The two of them established eye contact, and Qrow almost felt like he was about to drown. "I just... tonight was weird, you know?"

"Yeah, it was." Qrow mumbled his response. "You know, I..." Qrow frowned and cut himself off before he could say any more and make things get awkward or uncomfortable. He sucked in on his teeth, hoping that it would be enough to make him feel even slightly better.

The problem was that Qrow knew exactly what he wanted to say. It was just a matter of the fact that it just wasn't a good idea.

He knew that it would be inappropriate. There was no nice way for him to just go ahead and say upfront that he had felt that flash of jealousy when he'd seen James with Glynda hanging off of him like that. Qrow shifted slightly, hoping that he could hide his discomfort.

"Qrow?" James sounded almost like he was uncomfortable. Or even concerned. "Is there-"

"Nah." Qrow mumbled. He sat up, deciding that he he did actually want to sit up and enjoy his meal, as comfortable as lying there shoulder to shoulder with James was. No, he couldn't do this. He had to sit up and eat.

His body was going to take revenge on him for this later if he didn't. It had been a long day, and there was a big part of Qrow that wanted a drink. Qrow pushed himself upright and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees before looking back at James and meeting his eyes. "Nothing's wrong."

There weren't many lies that could have tasted more bitter.

"Okay." James answered. He didn't move to sit up with Qrow, even after Qrow began to eat his meal. The quiet that hung between them was very comfortable- the kind that belonged to people that had quietly become friends over the years. Even after all of their problems- even with not much time for the two of them to have bonded.

Qrow smiled. He decided to look forward instead of looking back at James- it was better for him if he just didn't focus on James so much. He let his eyes scan over his surroundings. It almost felt like a home, just there was something missing.

It had been something that Qrow hadn't managed to work out just yet. It was a home, but not quite. Maybe it would have felt more like a home if Penny was around, or if James hadn't been so alone. Maybe then this place would feel like there was some sort of life that had been breathed into it at some point.

They didn't talk, not for a while at least. There was some small part of Qrow that was honestly glad for that fact- the night had been long and they were both tired. He didn't want this to be like the last time that the two of them had been so exhausted after a job like this.

He wanted things to be different, and good, and kind.

James eventually sat up and Qrow watched him out of the corner of his eye. He watched the way that James slipped out of his glove as silently as he could. Qrow swallowed down a bite of macaroni and his own nerves at the realization of what was happening. James was baring himself to him- in the small way that James could when he worked out the energy to do so.

James picked up his sandwich and brought it up to his lips before beginning to eat. Qrow let himself look over for a bit.

"You okay?" He finally managed to ask, hoping that it would be just enough to relieve something. To make himself feel just a little bit better instead of as supremely uncomfortable as he already was feeling.

James' eye slid over to meet his. James didn't turn to face him directly- it seemed like that just wasn't something that James wanted to do at the moment, but Qrow didn't mind that so much.

"Yeah." James finally mumbled. "Just worried."

"Is…" Qrow hesitated on the word. He had the feeling that whatever James' answer was going to be, it was going to be one that he could expect. One that he'd probably heard before. "Is there anything I could do?"

To his surprise, James actually cracked a small smile and shook his head in a way that made his hair flop down into his face. His eyes crinkled at the corners, and Qrow realized fairly quickly that this wasn't just a smile. This was the kind that Qrow had only ever seen James show with Penny or the kids around.

It felt like he was seeing something rare and terribly precious.

"No." James answered. "I don't think there is, I'm afraid."

Silence.

James shifted on the couch beside him, and leaned forward to set down that plate of food- still barely touched. The taller of the two men stood up and seemed to stretch slightly before turning and heading back in the direction of the kitchen.

Qrow raised an eyebrow and watched as James went to his cabinets. Over the last few days, he'd learned which cabinet was which for the most part. James started with the one that Qrow knew James tended to keep his medicine in, before pulling something small out and stepping over to one cabinet that Qrow knew to be almost always locked.

"JIm?"

"What do you like?" James called back. "Scotch?"

Qrow blinked, taken aback by the question. He'd been under the impression that James wasn't much of a drinker, or at least didn't approve of the ways that Qrow tended to go about it. He blinked, and even hesitated on an answer because he didn't know whether or not it was a trick or something.

"Uh…" Qrow said before setting his plate down himself. "I'm coming?"

He pushed himself up to his feet and made his way across the apartment to meet James in the kitchen. He watched as James got out two glasses, both relatively small ones. Probably just enough for some small celebrations as opposed to getting drunk.

Qrow didn't mind. He could handle that.

However, there were a lot of things that Qrow wasn't able to process quite as well as he would have hoped to. For instance, there was the fact that he was able to scan over everything in that cabinet and mentally put a pricetag on each bottle.

He didn't think that there was a single one that cost under twenty bottles.

Sometimes Qrow forgot that James wasn't exactly poor, but not quite rich. James could afford his luxuries, but when he just saw James struggling in his day to day, it was hard to remember that.

Qrow swallowed down his nerves, realizing that he didn't actually know what was in this cabinet that he would like. There was a big part of him that just felt too poor to be there beside James all of a sudden. It was like he just didn't belong there. James had a nice house with a stocked liquor cabinet- new car outside, and basically any amenity that one could imagine.

In contrast, Qrow was nothing like James economically. He lived on his brother in law's couch and babysat to pay rent.

They were from two very different worlds, but somehow…

"I'll just have whatever you're having." Qrow managed before leaning back against the counter behind him. "I figure you've got good taste."

James raised an eyebrow at that but didn't question it. Instead, he filled the two glasses with ice before pouring an appropriate amount of amber liquid over them. James passed the first of the two off to Qrow with his left hand, and took the second in his ungloved right.

"I, uh…" Qrow had to hesitate as he looked down into the drink, not sure whether or not there was something that he should have gone ahead and said to James instead of just standing there awkwardly. "Thanks." Hesitation. "Any reason, or?"

"Celebration." James answered. "Forgetting." He quickly followed up with. "Whichever feels more appropriate to you."

Qrow nodded and stared further down into the drink. He didn't know what he was looking for there, but he hoped that it would be something. Some small comfort.

He couldn't find something. There was no reason for him to drink.

But he did anyways.

He and James clinked their glasses together before retiring back to James' couch.

Qrow took his first sip of scotch and sank back down into the couch with James. It was comfortable, and the alcohol filled him with a certain sort of warmth that he was happy to be able to experience.

He closed his eyes and tilted his head back, just feeling rather happy for the fact that he was able to be there experiencing anything with James like this. He'd never even expected that he'd get the chance to spend time with James like this where it was so quiet. Intimate even.

He tried not to read into it, but he knew that in the end, that was going to be a failed attempt at best.

"So, Jim."

"Yes, Qrow?"

Qrow picked his head up and locked eyes with James. "I wanna ask you something." He leaned towards James slightly, earning a raised eyebrow and an expression graced James' face that could only be best described as being somewhere between confused and concerned.

"Yes?" James asked, though he kept his volume low.

"If Ozpin offers us another job and we make it out of this one okay, do you think that you'll want to help?"

James was silent, seemingly rolling the thought around like it was the one thing that his life truly depended on. He would definitely have to make a decision on whether or not he wanted to help them on another job should the possibility arise.

Qrow knew that James had mentioned stopping.

Going straight, as James had called it.

"I don't know." James mumbled. Qrow watched as he sipped from his drink again, and even found himself mimicking the action. The drink left a pleasant burn at the back of his throat, one that he'd grown used to feeling a thousand times before. But somehow, sitting here and drinking with James was comfortable.

Almost familiar, even despite the fact that the two of them had never sat down and done this together before. Usually, it was just James keeping him away from the liquor.

"You don't know?" Qrow asked, leaning forward so that he could set down his glass on the table.

"Yeah." James mumbled, draining the last of his drink before getting up to go back to the kitchen. Qrow didn't even realize at first that James was going to get more. He swallowed, and just watched as James moved. There was a certain fluidity to it that Qrow wasn't quite used to seeing.

James poured a second drink, and Qrow caught a slight stutter, just before James was about to put the bottle of scotch back away. James picked up his glass and turned, carrying his now filled glass and the bottle with him.

The bottle found its home in the center of James' coffee table, just within reach for both of them.  
A new temptation.

"That's it?" Qrow asked. "Yeah?"

"I mean," James leaned back with his glass in hand and even crossed one leg over the other. Qrow remembered for just a moment that James had said something, back when the two of them had shared Taiyang's living room during the cookout.

James only had one flesh and bone leg, Qrow remembered.

He wondered which one it was.

"It depends on how much the payout on this job will be." James explained himself. "A lot of variables."

"Variables." Qrow mumbled, leaning in towards James, albeit slightly. "Is that what we're calling them now?"

His and James' eyes locked. The entire room seemed to go completely silent around them, and there was something small, something nagging that bit at the back of Qrow's mind and told him that he should make a move and figure this out- make things worse.

"Yes." James managed, though his voice came out as being barely above a whisper. He settled further into the couch next to Qrow, and to some surprise, Qrow felt an arm drape over his shoulders, heavy but warm to the touch.

"Jim?"

"Qrow?"

Qrow blinked and couldn't help but to just watch James' expressions for anything. Exhaustion, anger, joy- anything that could have ruined this moment. But instead, all he found was the dark of James' blue eyes, which seemed to have darkened even further at some point over the course of the evening.

"I want to do something."

"Do what?"

Qrow pushed himself upright and twisted slightly as he pressed himself into James' space. It wasn't hard, and to his surprise, he didn't feel James move to protest. In fact, there didn't seem to be an angry bone in James' body.

He couldn't figure out whether or not that was a result of the alcohol or the environment or something else.

But there was also a part of Qrow- a rather large one, at that, which simply didn't care.

"Can I?" Qrow mumbled the question. He wanted James to say yes. There was some part of him that felt more like it was a need.  
James didn't answer with words. He nodded mutely and glued his eyes to Qrow's.

He leaned forward towards James, and pressed his lips to James'. There was no reaction, for just a moment, but he felt the way that James' body seemed to stiffen slightly under the touch, but what came next was a surprise.

James' lips were moving against his, slowly- almost like he was testing the waters for something that Qrow figured James was probably a little more than afraid to ask about or lean into. Qrow shifted his body, and pressed himself just a bit closer to James.

He felt an arm wrap around his back to tug him just a bit closer. Qrow moved his hand to James' jaw, where he could feel just a bit of stubble beginning to grow in and prickle at his fingertips.

Time lost meaning, and Qrow just let himself become completely lost in James' touch. All that mattered was the three points of contact that had developed between them.

His hand, on James' jaw.

James' arm, around his waist.

Lips against lips.

Finally, he pulled away and tilted his head against James', their foreheads meeting at the middle. James' breaths seemed almost ragged, and Qrow couldn't help but to worry that he would be pushed or chased away from James at any moment as punishment for this infraction.

Instead, James just detached himself from Qrow and stood up, picking up his drink and draining it down wordlessly. Qrow, realizing his folly, straightened up as best as he could and segregated himself off to his own part of the couch.

It was quiet there, for a while. Something hung between them that couldn't be said- that couldn't be elaborated on because should something be done or said, it would ruin something.

But to his surprise, James didn't move to throw him out. He didn't even excuse himself off to bed.  
No, James just wrapped himself up in mundane tasks until he eventually retired to the couch alongside Qrow. He poured the two of them a few more drinks, and clinked their glasses together before taking another sip.

Gradually, the night became more and more of a blur until Qrow fell asleep pressed to a larger body that was as hard as it was soft.

He dreaded waking up. 


	37. Hangover Blues

When James woke up, he was incredibly sore.

His body felt like it had been bent for an extended period of time into positions that it shouldn't have been. There was a consistent wave of pain that rushed up his back and into his skull. His head pounded, and his stomach ached for him to eat something. His mouth was dry, and his eyes felt dry and tired as well.

Needless to say, he wasn't exactly feeling well.

He didn't open his eyes for a few minutes- largely because he wasn't sure that he actually wanted to face whatever the morning was supposed to bring. The fact that there was a weight bearing into his side- left side, his mind managed to vaguely register- wasn't much of a comfort, as comforting as that weight almost was.

It reminded him of better times. Of times before things had started going wrong in his life.

He really didn't want to have to wake and lose that. For now, he just wanted that temportary comfort.

It was comfort that could almost drown out a hangover.

The weight that was pressed up against him shifted and even sniffled, albeit quietly.

James tried not to move, for fear of ruining everything.

"Jim?" A voice said, too quietly and too ragged. They shifted again, and James even winced slightly as the other presence- he didn't want to think about whose it was- moved. "You up?"

James cracked one eye open and finally had to face what was going on.

Sure enough, pressed against him and now sitting up, Qrow was there. He looked tired himself. He also didn't look like he'd gotten out of the clothing that he'd decided to wear the night before. Like taking care of anything was just not in the question once the drinking had started.

James didn't want to think about how bad his own state of disheveledness had to be.

"Yeah." He finally managed, though the word felt more like he'd had to croak it out than speak. "Do you mind?"

Qrow blinked, sleepily before sitting up properly so that he was no longer pressed against James. He looked around the room, before his eyes landed on the glasses and the now empty bottle of scotch that sat on the table just in front of the two of them. James watched him, realizing that Qrow as trying to piece things together, to some small degree.

James sat up properly now, almost feeling his bones and his robotic joints creak and want to lock up with the motion. Everything ached, and he couldn't help but to wonder what time it was. Normally his phone would have gone off but-

The night before flashed through his mind.

He finally looked over at Qrow directly.

There was an elephant in the room.

James, for one, was more than content to ignore it. He and Qrow didn't have to acknowledge the fact that they'd apparently started talking the night before, and then gotten carried away with drinking enough that this made sense. It had made sense at the time for sure, but now that it was time to deal with it James didn't want to acknowledge that.

But he knew Qrow. If there was anyone that wasn't going to be willing to let any of this go or ignore that it had happened, it would be Qrow.

It was only slightly nerve wracking to think about.

Maybe if James had even the slightest chance of getting away from this without being questioned, then it wouldn't have been so bad. But that wasn't going to be possible. Qrow wasn't going to give him the chance to do that again.

He straightened his body out as best as he could and tried not pay attention to the way that his body was screaming at him for neglect the night before. He knew fully well that he really shouldn't have gone ahead and let himself be so careless, but at the same time-

There had just been something so relaxed the night before that James hadn't wanted to let it go.

He forced himself upright, and reached out for the couch so that he could hold onto it, if only until he got his bearings about him properly. James forced back a wince, and began to hobble over in the direction of the kitchen.

He couldn't let himself think about anything other than the fact that there was going to be a package of painkillers in his kitchen just waiting for him.

"Jim?" A voice asked over his shoulder. James couldn't bring himself to look back at Qrow or say anything to him- he was too tired, too exhausted. Instead, he focused every scrap of energy that he did have into taking the next step forward, then the next, and then the next after that until he was finally in the kitchen.

Qrow had followed him in. As James went to get his pills, Qrow was also there, just over his shoulder and trying to get him a glass of water so that James could at least manage to wash it all down without too much trouble.

James was grateful, at least on some level, for that small kindness. He hadn't really expected it. But seeing as he and Qrow had apparently gotten a little closer than James would have expected the night before, he wasn't so sure that he really minded it that much at all. He could take the small things, it was the bigger things that worried him most.

He managed to get the bottle of pills open and poured a few out onto the kitchen counter, only really taking the time to make sure that none of them ended up rolling away and out of reach, if only because he didn't want to have to deal with the cleanup effort later on. His body was already angry at him for sleeping on the couch with Qrow, and James didn't want any further punishment for it.

Qrow set the glass of water down next to James and leaned back against the counter. He looked sheepish, almost, James recognized. He tried not to think about it as he picked up the pills with his left hand and popped a few into his mouth before washing them down with the water.

He wasn't able to relax back against the counters though. James knew that he wasn't going to be able to do that until the medication kicked in and brought him away from this sort of place- hopefully it would be soon. He wasn't sure how much longer he could go on his feet before he buckled over in pain.

Qrow spoke up again, this time sounding all too quiet. "You think you'll be okay to get me out to Vale?" Qrow mumbled, scratching at a space at the collar of his shirt. "Or should I stick around here?"

James didn't know how to respond. He figured that in theory, he would be able to make it back out to Vale that day without too much trouble, it was just a matter of making sure that his body didn't fight him too much along the way.

A part of him wondered whether or not he'd be able to call Laurel when he got out there- he could offer to buy groceries. He could make sure that Penny was taken care of, and if she agreed to get groceries, it meant that James would have a little bit more time with the girl than he normally would have gotten.

James tried not to let too much hope bubble up in his chest, if only for fear of having it quashed later.

He closed his eyes and tilted his head back slightly in an attempt to relax. He swallowed, trying to make himself comfortable before finally speaking up. "I'm not so sure." he mumbled. "Everything hurts."

Qrow winced slightly. He didn't look like he was feeling at his absolute best either. James figured that there was probably a good reason for that- probably the fact that the two of them had spent the entire night curled up on that damned couch together.

James didn't even know how it had happened, and that was the worst part. The best that he could guess was that the two of them had just gotten too carried away the night before. Drinking until they slept.

Something like that.

But that was the problem- he knew that, and he understood that. It was just that there was something else that had changed the situation for them. Ther had been something that had allowed them to drift close in ways that couldn't just be blamed on alcohol.

Qrow hummed and looked around James' kitchen- definitely looking for something there. James watched him, not really sure whether or not he wanted to ask any questions about it. He figured that if there was something that Qrow wanted to say or do, Qrow was probably just going to go ahead and do it.

"You want something to eat?" Qrow asked, snapping his attention straight ahead to James. "I think I might be able to-" Qrow shrugged, and looked at James' cupboards and fridge. James didn't even know if he'd actually have proper food there for Qrow to cook with- it was possible that he'd used the last of his good groceries the night before.

"Uh..." James started, wracking his tired mind for any sort of answer. "I mean, I'd like something to eat, but I don't know if I-"

"Groceries?" Qrow asked, without any hesitation. He blinked. "We could order?"

"What are we going to order at-" James started, but he had to stop when he realized that he didn't actually know how he was supposed to go ahead and finish that sentence. He didn't even know what time it was, just that he felt like he needed to rest forever. His eyes made it over to his oven- which was displaying the time proudly in blue digital numbers.

When had it gotten to be one in the afternoon?

He swallowed, then sighed. "Never mind. If you want to order something, I guess you can go ahead and do that."

James hesitated. Qrow's suggestion that the two of them should get food definitely wasn't a bad one, and he definitely wasn't in the mood to bother with cooking anything. At the very least, this was going to be a good chance for him to avoid Qrow- avoid the happenings the night before.

"Takeout sounds good." James mumbled, although his words came off as being terribly stilted. "Same place as last time?"

"Sounds good to me." Qrow answered. James watched as Qrow began to move around the living room, probably looking for something that would help him in making the order. It would be easy for James to just tell Qrow what he liked, but he was okay with letting Qrow just search for whatever he was.

"Do you want to call them or-"

"Might as well call and drive to pick it up." James answered. "Save some money."

"Not that money matters..."

James shrugged. "It doesn't but..." He cast a glance around the room. He was a man to live by modest means. "You know how things can be."

Qrow nodded and went back to whatever he was doing. James inhaled deeply, trying to work through his thoughts and the pain that was shooting through him. He forced himself away from the counter he was leaning against and crossed the kitchen, since he was going to have to get them silverware and plates eventually.

It was difficult. He found himself leaning against counters much more than he would have liked, but James needed to get things done.

Qrow came into the kitchen to find James bracing himself against the kitchen counter. He was breathing a bit heavier than he should have, and he wasn't sure how much longer he was going to be able to stay standing.

"Jim?"

James picked his head up and forced himself to look over at Qrow, who was standing there with his cell phone in his hand.

"Qrow?" James asked, almost hissing the name out. "What is it?"

Qrow stepped up beside James and wrapped his arm around James' waist to offer some sort of support. "Come on, you-"

James raised a hand to try and push Qrow away. He didn't want this sort of closeness. Not when the night before had ended with him and Qrow pressed so close together.

"James?"

"I can do this." James growled at Qrow. He tried not to notice the way that Qrow stiffened at the sound of it. "Please, just..." James guided Qrow away from him with one hand. "Just order the food."

Qrow seemed to go slightly pale, and then he nodded. "Okay." Qrow mumbled, quietly. He stepped away from James. "Do you have anything in particular that you want, or-"

"Just order." James answered. "I don't particularly care right now."

It was too quiet, and then Qrow spoke up.

"Okay." He mumbled. The thin man took a step back, then another, and then James was all alone in the kitchen.

James did his best to collect himself and his thoughts before he finally stepped away from the counter again. He was going to get his feet under him, and then he was going to deal with Qrow and maybe even deal with what had happened the night before.

For the most part, all that James could think to do was to just go ahead and stand there and wait. When the pain finally subsided enough, he took a deep inhale and forced himself to stand upright again. James frowned and got down the rest of the plates that he was still sure he and Qrow would need, and then stepped out to the living room where he knew Qrow was going to be waiting.

Qrow was sprawled out on the couch, which was still rumpled from the night before and looked like it needed for the cushions to be rearranged desperately. He looked up at James and raised an eyebrow as he silently asked whether everything was okay or not.

James gave a slight nod before joining Qrow on the couch.

"I ordered food." Qrow said, his voice even as he crossed his legs and turned to face James directly. "Should be ready in about twenty."

"How much?"

"Not cheap." Qrow answered, snorting. When James shot him a look that said quite plainly that James wasn't amused with him, Qrow rolled his eyes. "About forty bucks. Hope you don't mind too much?"

"Both of us can afford it." James sighed. He turned his head away, feeling only a little bit more than unwilling to actually face what had happened the night before. "Food sounds good."

"And then we go back to Vale after."

"Yeah." James answered. "Back to Vale."

Qrow shook his head and leaned back against the armrest that was directly behind him. "Do... do we need to talk?"

James frowned and scratched at the hair on his temple. He knew fully well that he was going a little gray there from the stress of everything, but he needed something tangible. Not when he felt like his entire universe had flipped upside down and inside out all in one go.

He had the feeling that the events the night before were probably around equally confusing for the both of them. James didn't know who it was worse for, but he had the feeling it had to be him.

"We probably should." James mumbled, finally. "Look, if you want to just forget this-"

Qrow cocked his head to the side and his rusty red eyes narrowed as he realized what James was doing- which was mostly the fact that James was trying to deflect the incident the same way that both of the times that they'd ended up in the same elevators had been deflected.

"Jim, why would I want to forget this?" Qrow asked, his voice sounding almost husky through the dehydrated rasp that the night before had caused. "I didn't mind it, but-"

"I do, Qrow." James almost growled. This time, ignoring the way that Qrow stiffened at the sound was almost impossible. "I do mind and..." His voice trailed off. James shook his head and looked up at the ceiling. "Look, it was a mistake."

"You're-"

"Qrow, I don't know what this is but it..." James hesitated on the words. "It has to stop."

Qrow blinked. "The only one who thinks that is you." He leaned back into his seat a bit further. "I don't get what the big deal is. So you might be into me-"

"I'm not-"

Qrow shot James a glare so direct that this time James had no choice but to stop mid sentence. It was the look of someone that was so unamused that they might have reached out to slap him on a worse day.

"Are you?"

James exhaled slowly. He clenched his hands together and tried to ignore the way that he put a little too much pressure on his left hand from his right.

"I don't know what this is anymore, Qrow. You aren't..." James' voice trailed off again. "My old partner and I weren't like this. Nobody else is like this."

"Roman and Junior seem to do just fine."

James swallowed. He'd hoped that the two of them wouldn't have come up.

"Junior was my partner, Qrow." He said. "He and Roman weren't anything before..."

"So what's the big deal?"

"It's inappropriate. It's a distraction. It's not... it's jeopardizing everything."

Qrow's expression sank, and James almost felt the need to reach out and apologize. He figured that he was probably the one crossing the lines today instead of Qrow, but at the same time...

"James?" Qrow reached out, though the motion was slow and testing- the sort of motion that was made only by people that desperately wanted to test the waters before going in so deep that they ended up frozen or drowning. "What is this really about?"

James swallowed and searched for the words that he could give as an answer, but none came. He shook his head and stood up, reaching out for a framed photograph of himself and Penny before thrusting it into Qrow's face.

"That." James said, tapping on the glass with a finger. "That's what this is about."

"Your kid?"

"Yes." James answered. "I can't have anything jeopardized for as long as she is around. She's the only thing that matters to me, and I mean that. I can't leave her without a father again."

James stopped, the last word feeling too heavy and real. It weighed down on him so much that it made it hard for him to think, and he couldn't shake the feeling. He'd said too much. He'd said something too true.

"You..." Qrow looked up at James and stepped in closer. He gently guided James' hands away from him, and gently pulled the photo out of James' grip before setting it down on the table gingerly. He reached out for James and tried to get him to sit- even if it was only for a little while. "...You have a guilt complex about all of that, don't you?"

James inhaled sharply.

He pushed himself away from Qrow and stood up before looking at the door. "We have somewhere to be."

Qrow's expression sank even lower than it had been before. James tried not to look into his eyes, for fear of seeing what would inevitably be lying there. Hurt. Anger. Sadness.

"Can't we just talk about this?" Qrow asked, his voice miniscule.

James went to the door and hesitated there, one hand on the handle.

He had two options.

He could say yes, and that would be it. He and Qrow would actually deal with this and that would hopefully be the end of it.

He could say no, and that wouldn't be the end of it. He and Qrow would go back to the same sort of bickering song and dance that they had always been involved in.

He took the third option and didn't answer.

"We have to get the food."

Qrow sighed and got up. He pushed his hair back out of his face in a manner that could only be described as rough, and the two of them went out to the car before driving to the same restaurant that they'd first gotten food together at.

They returned home to eat.

When they were finally done, James and Qrow began to drive to Vale so that Qrow could return home.

Amazingly, not a single word was said between the two of them the entire way.

James was glad for it. 


	38. Home Again

The drive back to Vale from Atlas was awkward. It had been a lot of James and Qrow sitting there in almost absolute silence with nothing but the radio between them to create any sort of buffer in the awkwardness. It hadn't helped at all. Qrow knew why James wasn't talking to him about things, and he couldn't help but feel a little upset by it.

He'd thought that they'd shared a nice time together, but apparently they weren't going to talk about things. It left Qrow wondering whether or not James was angry at him again. This time it had been different, James had kissed back.

There wasn't a single reason that Qrow could think of to explain why James was now acting his usual cagey self.

He was only slightly frustrated by it.

Qrow got out of James' car within seconds of the two of them pulling into the Xiao Long-Rose house's driveway. He was glad for it. It meant that he could finally get away from some of the awkwardness and start feeling like himself again.

He didn't look back at James over his shoulder, instead he decided that it was probably in his best interests if he just got inside and went about his normal business. If he could come back in and act like nothing was wrong- like there wasn't an active manhunt in Atlas for people involved in that robbery, like had and James hadn't accidentally ruined their friendship again, then maybe people wouldn't notice something was wrong. Maybe then Taiyang and Summer wouldn't speculate too heavily on his absence and just assume that he missed being home with them.

That was all probably wishful thinking though, Qrow reminded himself.

He went to the front door, pushed it open, and was met with absolute chaos.

The living room that Qrow normally called home was an absolute mess. The couch had been dismantled and turned into a large pillow fort, though there were no children in sight. He was only greeted by the sound of Zwei's barking, and then the sound of Summer trying to tell the dog not to bark. It wouldn't work. Zwei liked saying hello.

"Hello?" Qrow called, squinting slightly and peering deep into the house.

"We're in the kitchen!" Summer called back as Zwei emerged from the door to the kitchen and stared down Qrow, wagging his tail the entire time. The corgi was a lot of things- an intimidating guard dog was not one of those things.

Qrow raised an eyebrow to what Summer had said though. He dropped off his things on the dismantled couch before going to join everyone in the kitchen.

The kitchen was almost as chaotic of a scene as the living room was. Taiyang and Summer were at the counters trying to clean up a massive mess, while Ruby, Yang, and a familiar orange bob of hair that Qrow quickly recognized as Penny's were sitting at the table putting frosting and chocolate jimmies on cookies.

It seemed like he was arriving home to the tail end of a sleepover.

Not that he really minded that.

But seeing Penny there was the only thing that he could think to. He backed out of the room and almost sprinted to the front door before he could even give a proper greeting to anyone. He knew that was going to look weird to everyone else, but that didn't really matter that much.

He needed to get to James. If he wasn't still there, then Qrow was going to have to make a phone call and he was going to have to hope that James actually bothered to pick up for him. In that moment, it had become his life's mission to make sure that he got to James.

To his surprise, James' car was still in the driveway. It looked like James was just trying his best to make sure that he was ready before he left. Qrow knew that James had been feeling a bit off before they'd left, after all. The presence of James' car meant that Qrow had time.

He sprinted up to the side of the car and knocked on the window, probably a bit harder than he strictly needed to.

"Jim!" He called.

Almost as soon as Qrow had hit against the window with his knuckles, he saw James visibly jump. He supposed that he shouldn't have gone ahead and read into it. It only made sense that James would startle over it, after all. Most people weren't constantly prepared to have someone knocking on their car windows.

There was a long pause before James looked up at him, looking a bit more than just annoyed. He saw James exhale heavily, and then the window was being rolled down.

"What do you want?" The annoyance on James' expressions stretched all the way into James' voice.

"Penny." Qrow panted.

"Penny?" James asked, looking a little bit dumbfounded by the fact that Qrow had come and didn't try to explain himself at all. "What about her?"

"She's in the kitchen."

James' expression changed completely. His mouth dropped open slightly, and that was it. Qrow heard the sound of the engine being turned off, and then James was getting out and smoothing down his clothes and his hair.

"Bring me-" James didn't get a chance to finish before Qrow was reaching out to grab James' hand to tug him inside. He felt James physically recoil before pulling away entirely.

"Right." Qrow mumbled, looking to the door. "Follow me."

Qrow led James inside of the house, and caught the way that James' expression changed with every motion that the two of them made through the house. He led the way to the kitchen, even though he knew that James didn't need to be led. It just felt right that he led right now. Like maybe James needed it.

They stepped into the kitchen side by side. All three of the girls had picked up their heads and were looking at him and James.

Penny's eyes went wide and she hopped down from her seat, though she had some green frosting on her. She rushed at James, and Qrow saw James just drop down to one knee to receive Penny's hug with open arms.

"Hey there, princess." James said quietly into the top of Penny's head. "I missed you."

Qrow stepped back out of the way and arranged himself alongside Summer. He knew better than to get into the middle of these sorts of things. There was a part of him that said that he should have gone ahead and apologized to Summer and Taiyang for just bringing James in unannounced, but at the same time. he partially expected that he shouldn't bother.

They would understand James wanting to see his daughter, surely.

James was mumbling quietly to Penny. She pulled away from him and led him to the table before taking her seat again. James bent over the plate that she had in front of her that was half-filled with partially decorated cookies. Qrow watched and felt his heart clench at the realization that what he was seeing was frankly adorable. It wasn't likely that James was going to go ahead and welcome anyone into his life so easily like that.

But seeing James like that was sweet. There was a domesticity to it that Qrow wasn't used to seeing from James. One that he wouldn't mind being able to see again.

James pressed a kiss to the top of Penny's head and then he stood up to look at Summer and Taiyang. "I'm sorry." He mumbled, stepping out of the way and leaving Penny to her own devices for a moment. "I don't mean to intrude-"

"It's quite alright." Summer said, stepping close to James. She looked between James and Penny, then at Qrow, who did nothing but shrug in Summer's direction. Her mouth opened for a moment, and Qrow watched the way that her eyes changed. He couldn't help but to dread whatever was coming next, mostly because Summer tended to be unpredictable a lot of the time. "We didn't know that you two were going to be coming tonight."

Qrow tried not to think about the fact that Summer had referred to them as though they were a pair. Where he was standing, James almost flinched at the words.

It almost sounded like Summer was implying that the two of them had arrived together for some reason other than the fact that Qrow needed to get back home. While it was definitely awkward, Qrow wanted to just believe that it was just a poor choice of words on Summer's part. Not worth reading into.

Qrow inhaled deeply and tried to relax.

Summer's eyes flicked between them for a moment before she spoke up again. "I'm sorry."

James crossed his arms over his chest in an obvious sign of discomfort but didn't say anything, like he couldn't quite find the words that he needed.

Qrow shrugged. "It wasn't a big deal." He said, shrugging. "So what's going on here, sleepover?"

"Yeah." Taiyang said, pulling another sheet of sugar cookies out of the oven and setting them down to cool. "Penny was here all last night." Taiyang turned and shot James a look with his blue eyes almost looking impossibly sad. Qrow couldn't help but feel bad for James at the sight of it. He couldn't help but feel like James had ended up missing out on something because they'd spent the night curled up on James' couch together after a few too many drinks.

James looked down at Penny. "Have you been having fun?"

"I have!" Penny exclaimed, he green eyes impossibly bright with joy. "We played games all night, and had pizza!"

James nodded and smiled, seemingly happy to be able to just hear Penny so excited about something. "That's wonderful." Qrow watched James' gloved hand reach up to stroke Penny's hair before James locked eyes with Taiyang again. "Has everything been alright?"

"She's been great." Taiyang said, slipping out of his oven mitts finally. "I wish we could have gotten a hold of you two last night though, we would have loved to have a full house again."

And there it was, the unrelenting feeling that clutched at Qrow's chest and told him that he'd ruined something great. He shouldn't have bothered to keep James at the house like that, he should have just told Ozpin that he wanted to go home, he should have...

It wouldn't have mattered though, Qrow realized.

No matter what, he wouldn't have been able to make it back to Vale at a reasonable time. The job had taken too long, and even then, the nerves that had been built up over the course of the night would have been too much. It wouldn't have worked out, they wouldn't have been able to enjoy themselves together- regardless of the kids. They both would have been too tired and nervous.

And they also wouldn't have had the night together that the two of them did.

Thinking about that was selfish, but Qrow couldn't just pretend that it wasn't a factor in how he was feeling at the moment.

"We were busy." James said, writing off the entire comment that Taiyang had made. "And since work went late-" He shrugged and that was it. James looked down at Penny again, and then back up at Taiyang. "How much longer is she here for?"

Taiyang looked back at Summer over her shoulder and the two of them seemed to share some sort of a silent conversation. Qrow hoped that it wasn't going to be a big deal. He had a feeling that he knew what James was actually trying to ask Taiyang instead of just asking when Penny was supposed to go home.

He was probably asking so that he would know how long he had to spend with Penny without having to run into his ex wife.

"It'll be a few hours." Taiyang said. "I think her mother wanted to get her after dinner?"

Summer blinked and looked between James and Qrow, then spoke up finally. "James?" She asked, catching the tall man's attention. "How about you stay for dinner with us?" Her eyes flicked over to Taiyang for confirmation that the invitation was alright and was rewarded with a quick nod. Qrow didn't want to speculate on how much his presence played into Summer's choice to make the offer.

James looked down at Penny, his expression tight and then looked between Taiyang and Summer.

Qrow tried very hard not to be hurt by the fact that James had very intentionally avoided meeting his gaze. Being avoided was never fun, and this was no exception to that rule, Qrow thought. Somehow, even despite the night before, and the fact that they'd literally arrived together, and despite everything that he and James had gone through and done together, James was still trying to avoid him.

It was only slightly infuriating to have to think about and deal with.

"If I'm not imposing." James said, finally, smiling gently and raising his hands in front of him in a slight surrender. Qrow noticed that everyone made a point to ignore the gloved right hand. "I could try to help with getting it ready or cleanup or whatever you need help with."

Taiyang and Summer exchanged a look, silently asking each other whether or not there was anything that James could do to help them out.

"I think we'll be fine." Summer finally said, sounding confident.

James seemed to let out some sort of silent sigh of relief. Qrow watched as some of the tension eased out of the man's shoulder's all at once, and the way that he even lightened how he was moving his body. It was almost like he was seeing something entirely different out of James.

He hadn't noticed anything about how James had been moving the night before. It hadn't been the question, and since he had mostly been watching James just as they'd gotten out of a high-stress situation, that didn't mean that James was likely to relax like this.

A small smile creased James' face, and then he spoke up, his voice quiet. "I'd love to stay for dinner, in that case."

Qrow hadn't been expecting for James to say yes, but that was it. That was the end of the entire discussion, right there. He was glad for it, but there was a fairly loud part of his mind that told him that this was probably going to end in disaster.

He'd end up doing something that crossed the boundaries of what they were again- not that Qrow even knew where those boundaries actually stood anymore. He partially suspected that James didn't know where those boundaries were anymore either, but was too afraid to ask about it.

There were a lot of possibilities for what that night could go like, though. Maybe he'd end up getting teased by Summer or Taiyang so relentlessly that James just never set foot there again. Maybe he and James would actually be able to talk and start to work things out properly instead of continuing to dance around each other.

But, Qrow reminded himself, there were still things that kept him safe. There were buffer zones- the kids did a lot for that, and the James that he knew wouldn't dream to step out of line with Penny around.

Or any kid, for that matter.

As for Qrow, he didn't want to mess things up either.

He looked around the kitchen and nudged Taiyang with his elbow. "Anything you need help with?" Qrow croaked the words out, hoping that he'd come off as less awkward.

Taiyang blinked and craned his neck slightly so that he could peek out of the kitchen and down the hall towards where the living room was waiting- along with what normally made up Qrow's bedding.

Which Qrow wasn't exactly happy about having to fix.

"I don't think so." Taiyang asked, though he didn't sound particularly confident about it. He cast his gaze between Qrow and James like he was trying to think of literally anything that he could say to the two of them.

Maybe it could like like last time when the two of them had gone grocery shopping, Qrow thought.

That had been a mostly pleasant experience.

Summer spoke up. "Well, we have a living room that needs putting back together, and we could probably use something extra for dinner..."

Her lips pursed as she watched the children as they decorated their sugar cookies. Qrow partially suspected that they weren't going to be allowed to eat them until later on in the night.

"We can get something." James offered, raising his voice just enough to draw the attention over towards him. "It won't be a bother. What are you planning on dinner being?"

"Well, barbeque chicken was in the plans." Summer explained. "Think you can work with that?"

James nodded. "I know I can work with that." James looked over at Qrow. "Join me?"

Qrow scoffed quietly. It was mostly a self protective measure at this point. "Yeah, sure." 


	39. Domesticity

Trepidation clawed down James' spine as he and Qrow loaded groceries into the back of his car.

To say that the events that had happened over the course of the last day had been exhausting was making a bit of an understatement. Between the job and that drunken kiss and sleeping on the couch, James was exhausted. When he and Qrow had left his home in Atlas that morning, the two of them had only really been intending to make it a quick trip to Vale- drop Qrow off, and that would be it.

But Penny had been at the Xiao Long-Rose house, and James could never say no to Penny.

It should have been a balm to him, a small comfort, but it hadn't been. He should have felt more happy to be around her, but he could. In the end, he mostly was just tired.

James could feel his heartbeat in his chest, faster than it should have been, and he could feel his nerves rising higher and higher with every moment.

Contact with Qrow wasn't helping that.

In a perfect world, any time that someone willingly engaged in any sort of romantic activity with another, they should have been able to ease any tension that existed between the two of them and they would have been able to move on with their lives. Either get along and keep going, or move on and act like it had never happened.

The night had been rough, though. Exhaustion had clawed at both his and Qrow's minds, and there had just been something about the situation that had pushed them together into each other like they had.

Maybe it was exhaustion.

Maybe it was the scotch.

Maybe it was the sheer gratefulness that the two of them had both come out of the job alive .

But it shouldn't have happened. They never should have folded together like that, or kissed, or done anything other than eat and go to bed.

James didn't know what had gotten into him, and he was mostly ashamed of himself. Qrow was the type where he could throw around his feelings and his body as much as he wanted- the consequences didn't seem like a thing for him.

But James didn't have that luxury. He hadn't before and he didn't now. Now, he had to worry about the fact that he'd begun to open up to someone in ways that didn't quite make sense to him.

He didn't even know that he'd ever opened up to Laurel like this, and he'd married the woman. They'd had a child together and it hadn't felt like this.

Deep down, James knew there were reasons for it. When he was younger, it was easy to lay out his life according to a list of things that he wanted to do and check the boxes off of the list as he went.

High school sweetheart.

Get married.

Have kids.

Get a good job.

He'd had it all, even if it was in small bits and not necessarily as linear as it could have been. But there was a part of him, clawing at the back of his mind that told him that he had just been going through the motions. It had been what had been expected and it was what he had thought he had wanted.

In the end, James supposed that he probably should have just been smarter about the whole thing. His marriage had been doomed to fail from day one, looking back that was painfully obvious.

But with Qrow?

He didn't know what it was. There were no boxes to check off, no simple game plan that would serve to make everything feel okay- even if it was only for a little while.

It was too strange, too spontaneous. Too foreign.

The fact that it was Qrow of all people didn't help. It didn't serve any relief to him.

If he wanted, he could have just said no to dinner and made a call to Laurel. Maybe if he asked nicely enough he'd be able to bring Penny home to Atlas with him-

"Jim?"

James was snapped back to reality in the most forcefully quiet utterance of his name that he'd ever heard. Not his name. A nickname.

A nickname that Qrow had chosen for him for some reason. One that James would never quite understand.

He stared into the trunk, where the groceries were all lying arranged and ready for transport, all in proper order. Canned goods and hard items on the bottom, fruits and breads lying on top so that they couldn't get ruined.

It had turned into more than just buying some groceries so that they could contribute to dinner that night, it had turned out. James and Qrow had essentially bought food so that Qrow could apologize for continuing to sleep on Summer and Taiyang's couch.

There was a part of James that told him it was unnecessary. Excessive. There was something painfully domestic about shopping with anyone, and while he knew that Qrow had his reasons for wanting to get the extra groceries, James couldn't distract himself from the fact that there was just something about shopping with Qrow that was throwing him off.

Not that he'd be able to ever voice that concern.

"Yes?" He finally asked, tucking his hands down into his pockets so that he could at least feign some sort of security, and in truth it did make him feel slightly better.. It wasn't much- just a small comfort that he could derive by closing himself off physically.

Qrow stared him down, with a certain sort of softness that never should have gone with red eyes. It looked wrong, too unnatural. "Are you okay?" Qrow asked. He reached out- for the keys, James recognized quickly.

James pulled them out and passed them to Qrow, hopeful that it would be enough of a temporary distraction that things didn't get dragged up that shouldn't have been.

"Yeah." James mumbled. "I think so."

James didn't need more than a millisecond to realize that Qrow didn't look convinced, and in all honestly, James couldn't exactly blame the guy. Qrow had probably spent more than enough time around James at this point that he would be able to pick up on all of James' little quirks and ways of doing things.

All of the ways that James would show his insecurities. Every twitch and nervous tic.

Knowing that anyone had gotten enough time to be able to observe him like that was only a little bit unsettling, James thought. He'd gone for so long with a certain sort of insecurity built up around him that made doing a lot of things difficult, but he could typically at least get by.

Qrow knew him too well, though. Far too well for someone that he only spent a fraction of his time with, regardless of whether or not that fraction was getting bigger and bigger by the week. If that amount of time that he spent with Qrow hadn't been steadily growing, James thought that maybe he wouldn't have ended up feeling so insecure about the whole thing.

But he would have no such luck- whether he liked it or not Qrow was there and present and there wasn't going to be any escaping the guy, especially as long as they continued to work together.

James mostly just wished that the circumstances could be better.

He let his eyes scan over the groceries that had been loaded into the trunk of his car one last time before pulling it shut and fidgeting with his keys before handing them off to Qrow.

To James' relief, Qrow didn't say anything. He just took the keys and went to the driver's side of the car before getting in. James got in beside him, Qrow started the car, and then they started the drive back to the Xiao Long-Rose house so that they could make themselves useful when it was time for them to cook.

The car ride back to the house was almost pure torture. Nothing was said between him and Qrow, and for once James wished that Qrow would just open his mouth and start talking about something, about anything. James would have even been happy to talk about their interactions the night before.

If he closed his eyes, he could still almost imagine the closeness of Qrow's body to his. The way that they pressed together, Qrow's scent- a mixture of citrus from mixing drinks and soap, and even the way that Qrow's stubble had scratched against his lower jaw when they'd kissed.

The closeness.

James' right hand balled into a fist subconsciously, and he had to lean back into his seat as much as he could just so that he could feel properly comfortable there. He couldn't let himself think about Qrow too much.

Last night, he'd just been too drunk. Too nervous. Too insecure.

It had been a mistake- it was never going to happen again if James got his way.

His eyes slid over to Qrow, who was drumming a rhythm of some sort out on the steering wheel in front of him and waiting for the stoplight to turn green. A pang of guilt shot through James' chest at the sight of him. Qrow had probably enjoyed it, much more than James had. Qrow had gone after him physically before in the past, James had to remind himself.

Qrow would have enjoyed the night before, between the adrenaline, the touches, and the fact that it was the first time that James had let himself be open to that sort of contact.

Qrow didn't deserve this.

James swallowed visibly as he tried to justify everything that had happened to himself. It had meant nothing. He had to keep telling himself that, because maybe, just maybe, he would be able to tell himself that enough that he would actually start to believe it.

Maybe if it hadn't been for everything the night before, maybe if it wasn't for the fact that James was extremely likely to have to come into contact with Laurel that day, then maybe he would have let himself be open to it.

But he couldn't do that. He couldn't let anyone have ammunition that could be used against him right now.

James felt too vulnerable just being in a car beside Qrow right now. When they got back to the house, James was going to have to be able to sit up tall and act like he was completely unshakable. He had to be that person for Penny.

He couldn't let her see him as weak- not anymore. Things had changed too much over the years for that to still be a possibility. She couldn't be given even the slightest reason to doubt that he was okay.

Qrow's eyes flicked over to James, a response to James shifting slightly in his seat and the sound of the seat creaking under James' motion.

"Talk to me, Jimmy."

"It's James."

James felt guilty for the fact that the name correction that he'd given to Qrow a hundred times before was the only thing that he'd been able to think to say to the poor guy- Qrow deserved much better than that, but James couldn't exactly just turn his mind off and begin making small talk like nothing was wrong.

Qrow knew that something was wrong, and deflecting that fact wasn't really an option anymore.

Qrow sighed heavily as he steered them onto a road that James didn't recognize- maybe they were taking some sort of shortcut to get to the house that James wasn't familiar with? That was a valid possibility.

"You're nervous." Qrow said, scowling slightly as he pulled up to a stop sign. "Talk to me?"

James let his eyes flick over to his companion for a moment as he tried to think of anything that he could say to Qrow, but ultimately nothing came to mind. There was nothing that he could actually say.

"Yeah." James finally mumbled. "Just nerves."

"Because?"

James squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to think of a good way to finally explain himself. There really was no good way to explain things. There was no way to explain everything without just telling Qrow about what had been a particularly difficult time in James' life.

"Qrow, it's..." James tried to start but couldn't quite get there. He squeezed his eyes shut and let himself bow his head as he tried to think of literally anything that he could tell Qrow that wasn't just the truth- anything that he could say that wouldn't just be him talking to Qrow about Laurel.

There wasn't really anything that he could think of.

"Jim?"

"You know I have to see my ex-wife today in all likelihood?" James answered, trying his best to keep any bitterness from touching his voice and making himself sound as angry as he felt. It wasn't the sort of anger that made James want to lash out or fight, but it was still there and it was real.

Just very subdued.

"Is that what's crawled up your ass?" Qrow asked as he turned the car again, this time onto a side road that was heavily forested. It was then that James realized that Qrow was just trying to buy the two of them time so that the could just talk before getting back to the house.

Maybe Qrow just understood. James didn't know how likely that was, but it was possible.

"Look, it's just..." James looked out the window and watched as all of the scenery blew past them. "Things aren't as amiable as they could be."

"Well, she cheated on you, right?" Qrow asked.

"Yes."

"And it's been over for how long?"

James sighed, knowing where this was going. "Seven years. Six years. Somewhere in there."

Qrow hummed quietly before bringing up his next question. "So what's the big deal?"

"She has Penny."

"And?"

Well, that was just it. There was some piece that wasn't connecting properly- some part of the conversation that James couldn't quite figure out. Every time that he had to run into Laurel, he always ended up feeling this way. Lost and confused, and just angry. But he put himself in contact with her for Penny's sake.

Everything that he did was for Penny's sake at the end of the day.

"She just makes me angry."

"Is that really all it is?" Qrow asked, letting his eyes flicker over to James for just a short moment. "I know we kind of talked about this before but are you... are you actually over her?"

Considering everything that had happened the night before, Qrow's words came with a new sort of weight to them. There was something personal at stake there- and James was just afraid that if he didn't give some sort of answer that was perfectly worded he would end up hurting Qrow.

And Qrow was a lot of things- he was an ass, he got in the way, and he was far too impulsive for his own good, but at the end of the day, James did like the guy.

"Yes," James mumbled. "It's just... you know what they say about first loves, right? You never forget them."

Qrow's eyes went all soft at that, like he wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to say to James as a response. James could understand it, honestly. Not every pill was as easy to swallow as they could be, and there wasn't really getting around the fact that a large part of the reason that James was feeling so stressed at the moment was only partially because of Laurel.

He just needed something to help him ground himself, and then in theory all of this would be okay.

But he had to make it through dinner with Qrow's family first before that could happen. And he wasn't so sure that was something that he wanted to do, just since things had become so awkward. Besides, they probably missed Qrow a lot more than Qrow was aware of.

James leaned forward and closed his eyes before burying his face in his hands and inhaling deeply as he tried to just make himself feel like it was okay for him to be there and feeling the way that he was.

He nearly jolted out of his seat at the sensation of a hand rubbing against his back. James almost went into a panic as the first thing that came to mind was that Qrow was going to realize that there was something wrong with him. Qrow knew about the arm and the leg, but Qrow didn't know how far it reached.

All that James could think about was how likely it was that Qrow was going to end up with his fingers brushing over the seam where flesh and metal met.

"Jim, are you going to be okay?" Qrow asked, quietly. "Please, talk to me."

James swallowed, but he couldn't bring himself to move.

"Qrow, I can't do this." He finally mumbled through his hands. All of the fear and nerves from the day before all seemed to crash down on him at once. The day before, he'd been able to keep things out of the way and compartmentalize.

Today, there was just too much going on.

Qrow pulled over into the breakdown lane instead of letting the two of them go any further. They were going to get to the house eventually, but for now, it was just best that they waited so that James could calm down.

It was probably the one thing that James had to be thankful for in this whole ideal- Qrow was aware enough to know that for James letting himself break around Penny was out of the question.

"You can do this, Jim." Qrow said, keeping his voice quiet and so steadily even that James was almost scared by it. It was almost like he was hearing from an entirely different Qrow than he was used to. The Qrow that he usually was around wasn't a comforter, he was one to crack jokes and antagonize, but never comfort. "C'mon."

"It's not that simple." James managed to mumble through a too-shaky breath as he forced himself to sit a little bit upright. Qrow's hand slid away from him, and James found himself gripping his right arm with his left hand a little more harshly than he should have. "Qrow, she…" His eyes went dark. "She knows too much."

James shook his head and forced himself to sit upright instead of slumping in his seat. He swallowed down his nerves and reached over to where Qrow's hand was resting on his shoulder and just let his fingers brush against the top of Qrow's. He didn't know why he did it, just that in that moment he felt like he needed it.

That little contact, with him in control over what happened instead of it all being Qrow.

Qrow didn't say anything, just gently gripped James' hand in his and pulled them down so that their hands rested clasped together between the two of them. James didn't say anything to Qrow- he knew that nothing would really make him feel better at the moment.

For a while, the two of them just sat there, and when Qrow felt like it was safe to leave, the two of them left.

The entire drive back to the Xiao Long-Rose house, their hands never separated. 


	40. In The Kitchen

"Hey, dinner's ready!" Qrow poked his head into the living room where Yang, Penny, and Ruby were sitting over a board game that Taiyang had pulled out of the closet for the three of them. The girls appeared to be mid-turn, and Yang wore a look of intense concentration as she tried to figure out what she wanted to do.

"Aww, Uncle Qrow!" Ruby called back, her eyes widening in disappointment. "One more turn?" Ruby looked up at him with those eyes that Qrow recognized all too well as the puppy dog eyes.

Usually, he would have bent for it, but since they had company at the moment, he had to say no.

"Nice try, kiddo." Qrow answered, shaking his head. "C'mon, Jimmy and I got ice cream for you."

Ruby pouted slightly and stood up, smoothing down her shorts while Yang did the same. Penny got up behind the two of them, taking just a moment to fix the bow that was in her hair before following Ruby and Yang to the dining room for a meal.

When Ruby passed by him, Qrow made a point to flip her hood up over her head and gently tug it down over her eyes playfully. She whined quietly, and Qrow watched as she pulled her hood back down.

Once the girls were in the dining room, Qrow followed them in.

At the table, James was setting out the last of the large dishes of food. Qrow knew that Taiyang was still in the kitchen, getting ready to pour drinks for the kids, and Summer was sure to be joining them at any second to make sure that everything was in order.

Qrow leaned against a wall with his arms crossed over his chest and watched as James worked, making sure that nothing was going to end up spilling over onto something else if it got picked up.

When James looked up from what he was doing, Qrow and his eyes met.

Qrow could have sworn that he saw a tiny smile creasing James' features, and couldn't help but to smile himself. It almost felt like he and James had shared something that was almost intimate, but not quite.

Summer stepped into the dining room and cast a quick glance at everyone there.

"Well, sit down." She commanded, shooting Qrow a look. Qrow raised an eyebrow in response, not really sure what Summer was getting at. He could deal with whatever it was, but that didn't make her actions feel any less weird.

But Qrow also knew that there wasn't exactly get out from under Summer's orders. He seated himself in the chair where he would normally sit when he ate with the family, and was actually kind of surprised when James decided to sit down next to him with Penny on his other side.

His eyes flicked over to James for just a moment, and it was quiet. He noticed a certain sort of softness in James' expression, and Qrow couldn't help but wonder what it was there for.

Whether there was something that James wanted or not. Whether that time in the car had been instrumental for either breaking or mending things between them.

For just a moment, Qrow wondered how much he'd be able to get away with while James was there. Would he be able to touch the other man, or would be he able to touch their legs together if he felt the need? Would James just do the same thing that he always did and end up giving a thousand mixed messages?

Considering that it was James he was thinking about, mixed messages seemed the most likely.

Finally Summer and Taiyang took their seats, and then it was time for everyone to eat. Qrow stood up halfway and began to spoon food onto some of the plates for Ruby and Yang, though he was pretty sure that he didn't have to. He just liked the routine of it.

At his side, he was able to hear James quietly talking to Penny as he did the same, though the tone was very different. Qrow almost wanted to let himself listen in on what James was saying to the girl, but at the same time, he couldn't quite bring himself to do so because it bordered on disrespectful.

"Food for my favorites." Qrow said, offering Ruby and Yang their respective plates before he was sitting down and getting out of the way. He'd be able to get his own food once Taiyang, Summer, and James had gotten their food.

Normal routine said that he always ate last. It wasn't something that he minded, he did sleep on the couch and never paid rent, after all.

"Thanks, Uncle Qrow!" Ruby exclaimed, shooting him a too wide smile as she picked up a fork. Qrow didn't say anything, just smiled at his niece from where he was sitting. He was sure that he was going to end up with time to spend with the girls later on that night.

Qrow was more than just willing to bet that James wasn't going to be sticking around at the house that night. Once Penny was gone, James was sure to be gone as well.

He was about to spoon a serving of pasta salad onto his own plate when Qrow realized that this may have very well been the last time that he would ever see James. There was probably going to be another meeting where they would get their paychecks for the job, but after that...

Qrow didn't know.

It was too easy to assume that James wasn't going to be there after that. Using the kids as a way to get time with James was a bad idea.

The finality of everything was becoming entirely too apparent.

This wasn't something that Qrow wanted to think about.

Maybe later, when everyone was either in bed or absent, then he would try to deal with things a little bit. Qrow wished that he didn't know how that was probably going to end up going. It was just that knowledge hanging at the back of Qrow's mind that said James was going to leave soon that had him so worried.

He seated himself back beside James and looked over at the guy. James was watching Penny with the gentlest smile on his face, and even seemed like he was barely interested in eating his dinner instead of anything else.

"So, where have you two been all last week anyway?" Taiyang's voice roused Qrow to attention. "We missed you, Qrow."

Qrow opened his mouth to answer, and actually had to pause as he wondered whether or not there was any way that he could answer with any shred of honesty. Probably not.

"Got caught up with work." Qrow answered as he put on his best confident smile and tried not to let it look like there was anything off. "Between the security gigs and the fact that I've been at that one bar in Atlas, well..."

Summer cocked her head a little at that, and Qrow was sure that she saw her eyes narrow. "So where have you been staying?"

"If I may-" James interjected, setting down his fork on his plate before leaning in slightly. "He's been staying in my guest room while he's in Atlas."

Penny blinked those green eyes of hers and looked up at her father, looking entirely too innocent. "Like Winter?"

"That's right." James answered, smiling at Penny. His voice was too soft, almost affectionate. Qrow was almost able to imagine James reaching out and ruffling Penny's hair at that. "LIke Winter."

Penny looked down at her plate for a second and her eyes focused on the plate of food that was in front of her, like she was looking for something there. Her eyes flicked over the food and then up to James. "When will I get to come to your house again?"

There was a certain sort of quiet that fell over the table again at that. It was terribly awkward. One look at James told him that this was awkward for him before it was for anyone else. Maybe it had to do with the fact that James' life was in too much turmoil.

It was then that it dawned on Qrow that the last time that James had custody over Penny had been spent here, at the Xiao Long-Rose house instead of somewhere else. There was a guilt that ran through him at that. A lot that made him want to turn and face the fact that he may have caused problems in James' personal life by giving so many intrusions. By inviting him here any time that Penny was there.

"It'll be this weekend." James said, quietly, though the words were entirely too stilted. Sad, even. "Do you think that you can wait for that?"

Poor Penny's mouth dropped open a little bit, and Qrow saw the way that her eyebrows disappeared into the orange fringe of her bangs. "What about sooner?"

"It depends on what your mother says." James said, quietly. Qrow watched James' actions the entire time that this happened. He paused, picking up his fork and poking at his food quietly and hesitating the entire time between words. Those blue eyes didn't pick up. "I'll talk to her tonight if you want me to."

Penny sit up properly and smiled, reaching out to wrap her arms around James.

When James held the girl it was a stilted motion.

Realizing that something was off, Taiyang spoke up and he began to talk about what was going on at work, a silly story that was meant to offer some small comforts to everyone as they ate. After that, the awkwardness of the situation at the table managed to slide away enough that it didn't feel like the end of the world if something went wrong.

James and Qrow helped with the cleanup in the kitchen, even leaving Taiyang and Summer to go and watch the girls as they set them them up with a movie to keep them busy in the meantime until it was time for Penny to go.

"Are you okay?" Qrow asked James, who had his back turned to him as he quietly put some bags of food away that had accumulated. Somehow that was the only way that Qrow felt like he was going to be able to talk to James while they were here in the kitchen together. Like it was the only way to breach any topics with James.

This way if James was vulnerable, he wouldn't have to show him.

"I don't know." James said, that low voice coming out much quieter than it should have otherwise. It didn't feel right on him, Qrow thought. "It depends on what happens when Laurel shows up."

"If she says no-"

"-which is likely-"

"What happens to you?" Qrow finished his question, feeling mostly hopeful that James would feel good enough that he could go ahead and give some sort of answer. ""Aside from driving back home."

"I go home to an empty house." James said. Behind him, Qrow could hear James set something down and even shift in the spot where he was standing so that he could lean against the counter in front of him. "And I hope that I'm able to see her next week."

Qrow swallowed, feeling a certain lump of discomfort rising in his throat. He almost wanted to offer James something to see whether or not it would be enough to make James feel better. Maybe a night there at this house instead of having to go home, maybe the offer to go back home with him- something. Anything.

"Will you be okay?"

"By whose standards?" James answered.

A thousand feelings rushed through Qrow at the realization that James was asking that question for a very serious reason. In those days that Qrow had spent at James' home, he'd come to realize that the mirror that was in the bathroom that had been shattered one night had been clumsily replaced. It was enough of a patch job that someone who didn't know wouldn't have been able to notice it.

But Qrow knew. Something had happened that had been bad enough to make James snap enough that he lashed out in a violent way.

Would James go home? Would that happen again?

"I don't know whose." Qrow finally answered. "I just want to know that if you go home it's not going to be-"

"Qrow-"

"I saw the mirror, James."

He turned around to see that James was standing there, hunched over the counter with his entire body as an uninterrupted line of tension. There was anger, there was fear, there was so much-

And Qrow didn't even have to look at James' face to know that it was true.

"You saw it." James asked for any confirmation, though his voice was kept far too low for it to have been a true question. It was almost a growl, almost a threat. Qrow didn't know how, but it was.

"I did." Qrow confirmed.

James moved, stiffly. He slowly turned to face Qrow, and their eyes met. James didn't look pleased, his hands were balled into fists, he looked like he was ready to either run or fight. In the end, Qrow wasn't so sure that he would have blamed James for whatever choice he made.

"When-"

"When I came over with..." He didn't finish the sentence, knowing that James would be able to fill in the blanks himself. "You don't have to do this, you know?"

"Do what?" James asked, sounding almost confused by the question.

"This… thing." Qrow said. "The thing where you act like you're made of stone even though it's so obvious that you aren't."

"Qrow-"

"Look, I get it." Qrow said, quietly. There was a knock at the front door. "I get it, just… you don't have to do this."

James nodded and swallowed. Qrow watched as James stepped in close to him for a second, looking like he somewhere between being ready to go ahead and throttle someone for what had just been said or to crumble into him for comfort. James did neither. He just sighed heavily and set down what he was doing before speaking up. "I'll be right back." James said, his voice hoarse with emotion.

"Okay." Qrow answered, his eyes flicking up to meet James'.

Nothing happened.

James stepped away and left Qrow alone in the kitchen.

Qrow didn't follow him out, but he did walk to the edge of the kitchen so that he could look out and see what happened, or so that he could at least hear what was going on.

Two greetings.

One feminine and biting.

James', strong and unwavering despite what had happened in the kitchen.

Even without making out the words that were said between James and the woman, Qrow could understand that it was a spirited discussion. Probably not one without insult.

But eventually a party was going to have to relent.

The front door closed, and Qrow peeked in to see that James had stepped out and Taiyang and Summer were talking to the girls and trying to keep them calm. Penny looked upset.

Qrow looked back at his work behind him and wiped any water off of his hands before stepping into the living room to try and help in any way that he could. Through the door, nothing could be heard.

James knew better than to fight in the presence of children.

Qrow didn't know how long James was outside with the woman- Laurel, her name was, he remembered. But the door eventually opened and James and the woman stepped through.

For the first time, Qrow got a good look at her. Not like the first time that he'd seen her at the store with James.

She was tall, with too-intense green eyes that had obviously passed on to Penny. Her hair, red and curly, like Penny's. A freckled face that had become Penny's as well.

Penny was her mother's spitting image.

"Penny!" She called.

Qrow's heart sank at the realization that James had probably lost.

He was standing there behind Laurel with his hands down in his pockets and looking a little too bitter for his own good.

Penny stood up and smoothed down her clothes for a second before looking back at Ruby and Yang and shooting them both a weak smile.

"Yes, mama?" She asked, stepping up in front of her parents.

"Do you want to stay with your father for the week?" She asked, her voice somewhere between intense and kind.

The child's gaze travelled between her two parents, and even from where he was standing, Qrow could see the way that she shuffled nervously. He felt bad for her. He reminded himself that there was still ice cream in the freezer that they hadn't gotten to give the girls. Maybe that would help things, depending on what happened.

If Penny chose James, then they could give her some ice cream to help calm her down.

"I'd like to spend time with father." Penny finally said, looking up at Laurel and James meekly. Laurel let out a heavy sigh and looked over at James.

"Do you have clothes for her?"

"I do." James answered. "She'll be fine. If you need her for something, you can just call."

She nodded and took a moment to adjust her bag on her shoulder before reaching down into it and finding a pen and a scrap of paper. Laurel took her time, scribbling something down on it before passing it down to Penny.

"If you need me, I can come and get you, okay?" She asked, kneeling down slightly in front of the child. Penny nodded, and Laurel leaned forward to press a kiss to her forehead before standing back up and facing James. "And I can trust you?"

"Yes." James answered. "If anything happens, we'll call."

Laurel nodded. "Alright then. I suppose I'll be seeing you two next week?"

"That's correct." James mumbled.

Penny stepped forward and wrapped herself around her mother in a tight hug, and it even looked like she had squeezed a little bit. She smiled up at her mother and said her goodbyes, and then just like that, Laurel was gone and driving off to wherever it was that she lived.

Penny looked up at James, only to have her orange hair ruffled. "Go back to your movie." James said with a quiet smile down at his daughter. Penny nodded and ran back over to the couch where Yang, Ruby, and Zwei were sitting as they watched the movie that Taiyang had put on for them.

There was no hesitation as Penny climbed up onto the couch and settled in with the other two girls. He figured that Penny was going to go home with James whenever James felt that it was a good time to do so.

But for now, this was a happy time to be enjoyed.

Qrow stepped up beside Taiyang and nudged his brother-in-law's shoulder.

"Wanna get ice cream for them?" He asked, quietly.

Taiyang nodded. "Can you do it?"

"Of course." Qrow answered before slipping back into the kitchen where he and James' work had gone unfinished as a result of Laurel's arrival. He took a quick look around and then called for the girls, hoping that he'd be able to get some exact requests for ice cream.

He and James had decided to pick up whipped cream and sprinkles anyways, along with some chocolate syrup to top it all off.

"Girls!" Qrow called. "Ice cream!"

The first thing that he heard before anything else was an excited whoop from Yang, then the sound of the girls hopping down off of the couch.

James shuffled into the kitchen to help Qrow without even the slightest amount of prompting. He just stepped up to one of the cabinets to get down a few clean bowls for them to use. He just lined them up on the counter for Qrow and then the three girls were there.

"Alright." Qrow said, catching everyone's attention as he got the carton of ice cream that he'd picked out with James' help and peeled it open. He searched around for an ice cream scoop in one of the drawers, and was glad once he found it.

One by one, he filled bowls of ice cream before sending the girls off to the living room with their respective treats. Before he put the carton of ice cream away, Qrow hesitated and looked up to see that James had already gone back to putting away the leftovers from dinner.

"You want some?" Qrow asked, since he was fairly certain that James could probably use the treat after the roller coaster that the night before had been, as well as everything that had happened that day.

James paused over his work, and looked back at Qrow over his shoulder. "I'd rather not." He said, though it was quiet.

Qrow nodded, figuring that was the best that he could get out of the guy.

That was okay though, Qrow thought.

He just smiled at James, nodded, and finished putting away the bowls of ice cream.

Qrow tried not to notice the way that James' eyes lingered on him for a little too long.


	41. The Long Road Home

James and Penny said their goodbyes at around ten o'clock that night, piled into James' car, and were soon to begin the drive back home. Once Penny was buckled in next to James and looked comfortable, that was it. James started the car, and focused on the trip home.

When Penny got cold, James grabbed his jacket out of the back seat of the car and offered it as a small comfort to her. It was a blanket that she could take comfort in and a way to feel safe and content in until they finally arrived at home and it was time to go inside.

Penny chose the music on the radio- James didn't mind whatever it was that she chose. It ended up being a top forty station, with music ranging from pop to rock, to rap and country. James' only request was that the volume be kept low so that he would be able to focus on the road ahead of him. Penny understood that- she always did. James was glad for it.

He tried not to think about the drive. If it got too hard to drive, he could pull them over at a gas station and claim that they just needed to get gas and he wanted coffee while he took the chance to go ahead and calm down. Usually he could buy Penny a candy bar or something similar and that would keep her from asking too many questions.

James suspected that Penny knew when something was wrong, but never wanted to talk about it.

In the end, what mattered most to him was that if Penny did notice that he was riding on a wave of fear, she didn't bring it up. He was currently dealing with a constant fear that had refused to let up ever since James' first run in with Ozpin. The best thing that he could do for his daughter was do everything in his power to make sure that Penny stayed oblivious to the evils in the world around her.

Penny didn't deserve to be exposed to them.

She'd already been through too much.  
He probably hadn't done enough to protect her, and he was sure that she realized that he wasn't quite alright. That she knew that he was afraid of things and politely tried to hide it.

James found himself gripping his steering wheel a little bit tighter than he should have at the thought.

He forced it back, more content to focus on the street ahead of him and the sound of Penny's voice as it layered over the music on the radio.

They were probably about half an hour into the drive when Penny finally fell asleep and James turned onto the highway.

Once in a while, he was able to look over at the girl and see her for what she was. She was his everything, and she was there curled up in a seat beside him under his jacket and oblivious to everything.

He wondered whether she was dreaming or not. Whether she dreamt of sweet things like unicorns and bunnies, or whether nightmares ever reached out to grab her as they did to him all too commonly.

He didn't want Penny to go through any of that.

A soft smile changed his expression, and James focused on the road in front of him until the hum of the car's tires against the pavement was the only thing that he could hear, though it was undercut by the radio and Penny's quiet snores.

His daughter. His only love.

He would give the world for her.

And no matter how long he drove, there was always something in him that wanted to reach out and bridge the gap that distance and the last year had built between them. He wanted to reach out and brush her copper hair away out of her face along with her troubles in a silent ' I love you. '

But he couldn't. Taking a hand off of the steering wheel was a hard task for him these days, and it was best if Penny was able to sleep uninterrupted. Instead, James stared forward to the black pavement, with its yellow and white streaks that divided it. The road that would bring him and Penny back home to Atlas where he was sure he was going to have to carry her inside and up to her room to tuck her in for bed as he had a thousand times before.

In the end, the most important thing to him was that Penny didn't know how bad he was hurting. How scared he was, by work, and by family, and by Qrow. She didn't deserve to have any of that put on her.

His greatest fear was that he would fail her and she would find out, and then she'd lose whatever carelessness and innocence she had left.

James never failed to be struck by the fact that Penny had been through a lot over the course of her short seven years of life. Penny carried things that none of her peers had experienced, things that many of them weren't going to have to go through until they were much older. Most kids never had to spend visits with parents in hospital rooms, or have had to have been talked to about the strong possibility that they would lose a parent.

Penny had never deserved that. She should have been able to go away from time together happy because she had spent the day at the aquarium with him and had a brand new stuffed penguin to bring home with her. The next time that she saw him shouldn't have been with him in pieces and comatose in a hospital room.

The fact that Penny had witnessed that would never fail to leave James feeling utterly heartbroken by how he'd failed to protect her from some of the scariest things in the world.

And the worst part was that he kept falling into a pattern where it could happen again, over and over again. And it was all done in the name of money and a short term adrenaline high that was always quick to wear off.

If something happened again, James didn't know how he was ever going to be able to forgive himself for it.

Penny didn't deserve to go through that again.

James' eyes flicked over to the girl, to see that she was there as she had been that entire ride so far, curled up in the car seat next to him with his jacket wrapped up around her like a blanket. She was so content, so comfortable in that moment.

It was the last straw.

James silently vowed then that he was never going to let her almost lose him again.

As soon as he could, he was going to go straight, distance himself from everything, and then he'd make sure that Penny was his entire world. He'd still have to go in and get his last paycheck, but that wasn't the main concern.

After all of this, the main concern was going to be whether he could even get out or not. Whether he'd be allowed that freedom, whether Ozpin would try to trap him on another one, whether Qrow-

James tried to stop himself from letting that train of thought go any further, but it was to no avail.

Whether he liked it or not, Qrow did matter to him, and there were still things about the guy that continued to grab onto James' interests. Hell, James could even go as far to say that he cared about Qrow.

He didn't know why Qrow came to mind. Maybe it was that talk that the two of them had had together in James' car. Maybe it had to do with the specific words that Qrow had chosen to use that day. When they talked about going straight, Qrow had said we.

Not you.

We.

And James couldn't convince himself that that choice of word didn't mean anything. It was Qrow, everything that Qrow did came with some sort of intent about it. Maybe he didn't always realize it, but Qrow always did things with some sort of intent.

He swallowed and let his eyes stray over to Penny again.

Why did he care about Qrow?

His entire world was already there, curled up in the seat beside him.

He didn't need anyone else, did he?

James reached over to where Penny was lying and gently brushed some of her soft orange hair out of her face. They were going to be getting home sooner than later, and that was something to look forward to. But for now, Penny could rest, and he could go ahead and just focus on making sure that she was gotten home safe and sound.

Penny sniffled quietly and shifted where she lay.

Carefully, James pulled his hand away so that he couldn't end up waking her up when that wasn't what he wanted.

It was to no avail. Penny shifted again, snuggling further into James' coat and cracked those green eyes that managed to make James melt with every look that she shot his way open. She blinked blearily, and James made a mental note to make sure that he didn't end up looking over at her and taking his attention off the road.

He'd been in far too many car crashes over the course of his lifetime. The absolute last thing that he wanted or needed was another one. If another one happened, he didn't know how he would ever be able to get into a car in good faith again.

"Father?" Penny squeaked, sounding all too tired.

James shot the quickest smile over at her that he could manage in hopes that he'd be able to offer the girl some sort of small comfort about the whole situation. "Hey there." He said the words at a volume that was just barely above a whisper. It wasn't worth it to upset her. "You doing okay?"

Penny nodded and pushed herself upright, rubbing at her right eye with the ball of her hand. She nodded. "Are we home yet?"

"Not yet." James said, quietly. "We'll be there soon though."

She pulled the jacket a little bit closer around her and looked out the window, watching the way that the streetlights passed the two of them by as silence once again filled James' car. "I'm excited to spend time with you."

"I know." James replied, doing his best to keep his voice as quiet and gentle as he could manage. The last thing that he wanted was for Penny to end up getting upset because he had failed to control his nerves and keep them from taking him over. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

Penny nodded. "I like spending time with Ruby and Yang but..."

"But it's not the same." James finished for Penny, thinking back to the person in that house that he personally liked to spend the most time with. Spending time with Qrow when others were around was never the same as what the two of them did when they were alone.

James' mind drifted to that stolen kiss not too long ago, when he and Qrow were curled up on the couch together. Now that James thought of it, he was pretty sure that he and Qrow hadn't even bothered to clean up the remnants of their stressed out night.

He could probably get that done with Penny around though, James thought. She was bound to understand that sometimes adults left behind messes that needed to be cleaned up. Either that or he could claim that he and Qrow were in a hurry to get to Vale.  
Whichever would work out better for him.

"What are we going to do while we're at your house?" Penny changed the direction that she was looking and turned to look up at James. "It's been a long time since I've been there. Is it still the same?"

"Of course." James answered. "I'll have to clean up the living room a little bit, but everything's the same." He turned the car off of the highway and onto the exit that was going to carry the two of them into Atlas City. "As for what we do while we're there, what do you want to do?"

Penny blinked up at him and her little mouth dropped open just a bit as she tried to think of something that she could give as an answer to James' question. Finally she answered. "I think that I'd like to go to the aquarium again." Penny said, her voice quiet. "Do you think they still have the penguins?"

James' heart absolutely ached at that request, but he couldn't just bring himself to say no to Penny. Besides, she loved getting to go and see the animals and he loved the way that her eyes would light up every time that she got to see something that she'd never seen before.  
The fact that they'd been there countless times over the course of their time together didn't matter. Every time, Penny seemed to learn more and get excited about more.

James would have to be sure to get Penny a nice souvenir while they were there. Something nice that Penny could keep to remember this by.

James figured that it was probably the absolute least that he could do.

He hesitated, acting like he was really thinking Penny's request over in great detail before he finally decided to give the girl an answer. He looked over at her and shot a smile in her direction before speaking up.

"If you want to go to the aquarium, we'll go to the aquarium." James said, smiling as he focused back on the road ahead of them. There was still a bit of a ride that they were going to have to sit through before they finally made it to the house, but that wasn't such a big deal. He was almost always happy to be able to do car rides with Penny.

"Thank you, Father." Penny said as she looked out the window again. She went quiet for a while, curling up a little bit where she was sitting as she watched the way that the world passed by as James drove. She looked so happy, and he could even see the way that she shifted in some excitement as they passed by an animal that was on the side of the road.

They were going to be home soon.

"Will we get to see Winter at all while we're home?" Penny asked. She turned her head to blink at him.

James hesitated, not really sure whether he was going to have an answer for Penny or not about that. Whether Winter was going to be around depended on a lot of things, and there was always the possibility that...

No.

James shook off the thought that told him that there was probably going to be some sort of meeting that week. That wasn't what he wanted, that wasn't what he was going to do. If things came up and he ended up needing to go to a meeting at Roman's, he wasn't sure what he would do.

It wasn't as though he wanted to hire a sitter during one of the rare times that he had Penny staying with him for more than two days at a time. Perhaps asking someone to get his pay in his stead wasn't going to be completely off the table, but James would have preferred that it didn't end up being a problem at all.

Somehow he was also willing to bet that if he didn't make an appearance it would be considered very noticeable. If Ozpin had truly decided that they were going to be more present in meetings, then that was also something that James was going to have to contend with.

If he didn't show up for a meeting where Ozpin made an appearance, then James was actually willing to consider that he may accidentally end up putting his job in jeopardy.

But he was going to have to be able to give Penny some sort of answer, and so James was willing to try.

"If Winter wants to come and visit, then I'm sure she'll come and visit." James said warmly, turning so that the two of them were actually in the city now. He pulled up to a stop light and looked around. His heart skipped a beat when James realized that they were near the Chinese restaurant that he and Qrow always ordered from when they were too lazy to cook.

Maybe the next time that he had Qrow staying with him, they would have to go there again and get something to eat again. James definitely wouldn't have minded it.

"Will you tell Winter that I'm here?" Penny asked, her voice quiet.

"If you want me to."

"I would like that." Penny squirmed in her seat and pressed herself up against the window as she peered outside in search of something. James figured that she was probably just glad to see the city that he called home again. Living out in Vale wasn't like Atlas, it tended to be a bit quieter. Atlas had all of the hustle and bustle of a big city, and James was glad that he lived out in a nice neighborhood as opposed to the middle of the city.

He and Laurel had done that before Penny was born. He never wanted to do that again.  
And Penny was used to the quieter life in Vale anyways. James was glad for that, growing up in a city was rarely a good time as far as he knew.

Penny was lucky to not have that sort of upbringing. James repeated it in his mind like a mantra. She was lucky to be able to grow up away from the city. She deserved a happy childhood where she didn't have to worry about noise or pollution from the cars in the streets, she deserved it all.

James forced himself off of that train of thought as he began to pull off onto the road that was going to start taking them in the direction of the neighborhood where the house was. Penny was looking out the window the entire time.

Mentally, James made a list of everything that was going to have to be done as soon as he got through the door. He was going to have to make sure that any remnants of Qrow's stay there were erased and out of sight, just for the sake of propriety.

The living room was going to need to be cleaned up, and James was pretty sure that he was also going to have a load of trash that he was going to have to take out for removal come morning. Recycling could wait. Aside from that, the only other concern that James had was the upstairs mirror.

He didn't think that Penny would notice it. James had done his best with the replacement of it, and though the replacement didn't look quite as good or sit in the frame quite right, he was pretty sure that he wasn't going to have to risk Penny figuring out that the mirror in that room had been shattered.

He could only pray that she would never have to figure out why it had been shattered the way that it had. He didn't know what he would do if poor, sweet Penny ever figured out that it had been destroyed as a result of him being unable to control some of his own rage for a short time.

But that wasn't the concern.

As James turned into his driveway, James pushed back all of those negative thoughts and he was able to focus on nothing more than the fact that he was home with Penny, at his home, with no interruptions imminent.

He was pretty sure he would have no interruptions to worry about, at least.

James certainly prayed that nothing would end up arising over the course of the next week.

James parked, and before he could even say a word to her, Penny was squirming about in her seat and unbuckling her seatbelt as she climbed out from under James' jacket. He just chuckled quietly and unfastened his own seatbelt before getting out of the car and opening up the back so that he could get Penny's bag- he was going to have to run her clothes through the wash in all likelihood.

Penny climbed out of the car eagerly and joined him at the back seat, waiting to be let into the house with her eyes all bright and wide.

With one motion, James hoisted Penny's bag out of the car and reached down into his pocket to find his stored away car keys. He handed them to Penny in a ritual that the two of them had gone through a hundred times before. For as long as she had been able to, it had always been a tradition of sorts that she always got to be the one that unlocked the door.

Every time.  
Penny took his keys and ran up to the door and began unlocking it. Just as she got the door open, James was behind her and stepping in. She stopped at the door first so that she could slide out of her sneakers before going out into the living room.

James set his daughter's bag down just inside the door and slid out of his own shoes as well, though he needed to take some extra time to be sure that he was getting out of the right one without any trouble.

It was one of the things that he'd still failed to adapt to properly. He could go through the day, but getting in and out of shoes on that right leg always ended up being much more of an ordeal than it should have been. James didn't usually mind it so much, but he still would have preferred to have been able to get through life without having to pause at every moment to make sure his shoe was on perfectly.

If it wasn't, usually James would end up paying the price for it and would have to limp through the rest of the day as a result.

Needless to say, he was careful.

James got the shoe off and looked up to see that Penny was climbing up into his chair. She'd always been able to fit in it perfectly.

"I have to clean up the living room a bit." James said as he took the first steps to join Penny in the room. "I'm sorry about the mess, I didn't know you'd be coming home with me."

Penny just tilted her head and smiled up at James int that one way that was always able to just make his heart melt without fail every time. She was too good, too pure.

"I don't mind a mess father." Penny stated as she began to stretch out on the chair that had never really been bought with being proportional to her in mind. When she'd been a toddler, James had always been a little bit afraid that the cushions would somehow end up swallowing her up and then he'd never be able to see her again.

He shook the thought and just turned to face Penny. "You don't mind messes?"

"Mrs. Rose always says that messes are normal when people have sleepovers." Penny said this as though it was the most obvious thing that she could have ever said.

James was glad for it.

He leaned forward and picked up the empty bottle of scotch from the night before, and began to gather the dirty glasses that they'd been using as well in his free hand.

"Well, I'm glad that you don't mind a mess." James said, quiet. "Why don't you put something on and then we'll get a game or something, okay?"

It was late, but James didn't want to make Penny go to sleep just yet. He'd just let her sleep in come morning.

Penny's eyes lit up at that, and the smile that stretched across her face was so genuine and excited. "I would love to!"

She shifted off the chair and rushed off to find the remote, while James took the quick trip off to the kitchen so that he could finish his cleanup efforts.

He was glad that she didn't find anything weird about the fact that Qrow had been staying there with him a lot of the time. It meant that he had less to explain to her.

Not that he thought that he would be able to actually explain what was going on between him and Qrow to anyone, really. Maybe he'd be able to talk to Roman about it, but then it would be too many jokes and jabs in his direction and it would be uncomfortable.

James tried not to think about it as he rejoined Penny in the living room to join her for whatever movie it was that she had picked out for the two of them. It ended up being a brightly-colored animated thing, with talking animals and princesses.  
James didn't mind. He just sank into the couch with her and they watched the movie together until Penny fell asleep.

He lifted her as gently as he could, cradling her as though there was nothing more precious in the world, and then was careful to tuck her into bed and make sure that Penny was comfortable and happy the entire time.

For a little too long, James lingered at the door before leaving it, with just a crack open so that the light from the hallway could stream in and leave Penny feeling that she was completely safe. 


	42. Partial Plans

Ruby and Yang had gone to bed early, for no real reason other than the fact that both of them had been left nearly exhausted by the weekend's excitement. Zwei was nowhere to be seen, having chosen to go to bed with the girls, and that left the adults to their own devices for the rest of the night.

It had been a long time since Qrow had found himself in Summer and Taiyang's bed for any reason- usually he stayed out on his couch where he was out of the way and nobody noticed him.

Tonight, there was an important topic at hand that was best handled behind closed doors, and Qrow had been brought into the fold to aid Taiyang and Summer in such a serious matter.

"She's turning ten, so we should make this one the best one that she ever has." Taiyang and Summer were leaned back against the headboard of their bed, while Qrow sat cross legged across from the two of them so that they could talk, in roughly the same place where Zwei often liked to sleep most nights. "I've been planning to go get gifts but..." Taiyang's voice trailed off.

Qrow blinked, not really sure how Taiyang had meant to finish that sentence.

Summer didn't say anything, just gently placed a hand on Taiyang's forearm and gave it a light squeeze. Taiyang seemed to relax under her touch, just slightly.

"Money's tight?" Qrow asked, cocking his head slightly in hopes that he'd get some sort of confirmation from one of them on the matter. "If you need me to, I think I'm getting paid-"

"Qrow-" Taiyang started. "You know that you don't have to do that, right? You're trying to get back onto your feet, I don't want to-"

"Hey!" Qrow interjected. "She's my niece, I want to give her the best birthday we can too, alright? I'm getting paid and I'm pretty sure I can spare some cash for her birthday presents."

Tai and Summer exchanged a quick look, like they were silently debating whether or not the wanted for Qrow to even help them out. Qrow tried not to let himself get too dragged down in thinking about the topic. This wouldn't have been the first time that he was stopped from paying for something, but now that he actually had the money to spare, he wanted to try and help.

The only reason that he was still staying with Tai and Summer these days was because he wanted to avoid suspicion about him suddenly having a full bank account.

Instead, he took the moment to think about how his own finances- though they were kept secret, he needed to know how they were going to be lining up with Yang's birthday. He was going to have to make sure to get into contact with Raven to see whether she needed help or not, and then he was going to have to be able to put a 'reasonable' amount of cash aside so that he could keep on talking about working towards his own place.

After that, anything that he had left could go to Yang, but he'd have to keep that looking reasonable as well. Everything had to make sense for a guy with only a few paychecks under his belt.

"Qrow," Summer piped up and looked him straight in the eyes in a way that left him feeling more than just a little bit unsettled by everything. "Are you sure that you should do this?"

Qrow couldn't help but to let out a heavy sigh before giving an answer of his own. "Yeah, I am." He smiled at his two friends. "Only the best for the girls, you know? I don't have rent payments to worry about right now, I can put some money towards a birthday party." He paused, weighing his words. "Those girls are worth it."

His eyes flicked between Summer and Tai, and he didn't miss a lot of what was going on between the two of them for a second. The way that the two of them were resting together in bed said a lot without ever needing to say a word out loud. It was in the way that they were pressed together side by side, and the way that Summer's fingers were entwined in Taiyang's as she stroked the back of his hand with her thumb.

There was an elephant in the room, and none of them were going to be breaching it. A silent question that had been brought up every year for the last eight years, and never went answered.

Qrow's chest hurt when he thought about it. He knew what this was all about, the awkwardness. It was always one thing to go ahead and plan a party and figure out presents and what kind of cake they should get, but it was always another to try and figure out whether or not they wanted to try and make an attempt to reach out.

Taiyang had stopped asking Qrow whether he'd heard from Raven about three years ago. Too many times being told that no, he hadn't heard from her (a blatant lie that Qrow still hated having to make) meant that Taiyang had just given up on asking. Summer would still ask once in a blue moon, but usually only when things got bad enough that she needed to talk to someone about what had happened with Raven.

And in the end, it wasn't simple. It had been close to eight years since Raven had up and ran away from Summer and Taiyang, and Qrow had been in contact with Raven for every single one of those years. He just couldn't bring himself to say it to them and leave Summer and Tai feeling like they weren't wanted.

But that was depressing stuff, Qrow thought. He wanted to be sure that he could get everyone else on board with just talking about a party. The date was going to be easy to deal with, and if something came up on that date, Qrow was sure he'd be able to make sure that he didn't have any work to do.

He wondered if they would invite Penny along for the party, and whether that would mean that he could get James in.

But that wasn't something he should have been that concerned with.

Qrow shifted slightly on the bed and leaned forward, bracing himself against his own knees as he peeked between Taiyang and Summer. "Has she said what kind of cake she wants?" Qrow asked quietly, if only because he figured that this was going to be his best chance to make sure that they were on topic. "Or what she even wants for gifts?"

"Not really." Taiyang said with a quiet sigh. "We figured we'd get an ice cream cake again, she and Ruby have both always liked those."

"And gifts?"

Summed spoke up now. "We haven't heard anything about that."

Qrow hummed quietly. He figured that he'd be able to get Yang something cool that she'd absolutely adored. Usually his birthday present to her would end up being a physical gift of some sort and tickets to nearby amusement park since he and Yang were both fans of the adrenaline rush they found riding roller coasters.

Besides, he was sure that they both liked those days together better than toys anyways.

"I can talk to her and see what she comes up with." Qrow said, shrugging. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying very hard not to let his mind stray back to Raven. She'd gotten Yang a gift, and it was still sitting in Qrow's bag.

If Raven didn't want Qrow to give the gift and say that it was from her, he figured that he could go ahead and say that he'd been the one to pick it out. Whether or not Tai and Summer would believe him was another story.

Taiyang chuckled quietly and wrapped an arm around Summer, pulling his wife in close to him. "I'm sure that it'll all work out, we just have to be good about keeping the whole thing sort of secret from Yang, you know?"

Summer rolled her eyes but decided to melt into Taiyang's grip anyways. She hummed in contentment, and then she was speaking up. "I think that no matter what happens, it'll be a good time. We could get them a pinata..."

"Oh, Yang would love that!" Taiyang exclaimed. "And if we're getting ice cream cake we might as well do floats that night..."

Summer shifted slightly, her eyes lighting up. "We could get those sparklers that you like and do those out in the driveway."

Qrow smiled and just made himself comfortable, watching Taiyang and Summer bounce ideas off of each other. If he had something good that he could add as suggestions, he would, but in the end, Qrow didn't. Not really.

In the end, he was just the uncle that happened to be living on the family's couch for the time being until he got his feet under him.

He needed to get better about pretending that he actually had a normal job out in Atlas.

Qrow was pretty sure that he was going to be able to get through all of this without too much issue, though. It was just a matter of whether or not Tai and Summer were buying into his lies about what was going on.

Summer kicked him gently from where she was lying reclined against Taiyang, and Qrow just looked up at her and raised an eyebrow because he wasn't quite so sure about what she would be looking for.

"What?" Qrow asked, pushing Summer's foot away from him so that she couldn't go ahead and kick him again.

"You're thinking." Summer stated. "We tried to ask you whether you thought that we should think about for dinner and you didn't respond."

Shit.

Qrow blinked and smiled at Summer. "I guess I checked out for a minute, what do you guys want to do for her dinner?"

"Tai suggested that we eat out the night before and then do pizza the night of the party." Summer explained with a quiet sigh. "We were wondering if you had any suggestions."

Qrow needed a moment to think over what he should go ahead and say to Summer and Tai at that. Normally his opinion wouldn't matter on this sort of thing, but they bother seemed like they really wanted to get him deeply involved throughout the entire planning process

"Uh, we could probably grill something here if she wants it." Qrow suggested. He looked away from Summer and Tai, instead focusing on what was going on outside so that he could separate himself from what was going on a little bit. "In the end, it should depend on Yang, I think."

"I mean, of course." Tai said, quietly.

A silence hung over the room. Qrow didn't want to be the one that was going to go ahead and break it all, but he was also so afraid that someone was going to try and figure out what was going on with him. He couldn't give Summer and Tai any chance to figure out that he was in contact with Raven.

He'd have to call her tonight, but he was going to have to make sure that he had some sort of cover before he went to do it. Maybe if he claimed he was going to the gas station so that he could get something...

In theory it would work. He'd be able to take his things, go off to a gas station, and get into contact with Raven while also managing to pick some things up for himself. If Raven didn't answer, then calling Junior to see if she was at the club was always an option...

But getting into Atlas wasn't going to be so simple, and he doubted that he'd be able to get Summer and Tai buying into him needing a ride out this late at night. Especially when he could have ridden back to the city with James.

It all left a bitter taste in Qrow's mouth as he thought about it all more and more. He wanted to be the best that he could for everyone- whether they were like Raven and inconsistent or strong constants like Taiyang and Summer.

His eyes flicked up to Tai and Summer, who were talking quietly amongst themselves about how they were going to be able to afford this, as well as how many kids they were going to let Yang invite over for the party.

He should tell them. Everything in Qrow's heart told him that the good thing for him to do would be to go ahead and tell Tai and Summer exactly what was going on with Raven. He should sit up, get his nerves together, and just tell them that he not only knew where Raven was but also that he was in regular contact with her.

They didn't deserve this, but at the same time, Qrow couldn't just trust that he and Raven's contact was going to be able to slip under the radar should he end up giving Yang the gift that Raven had slipped him and naming it as being from Raven.

The girl didn't deserve to be stuck in the middle of any of this, and yet she was.

Qrow needed to do what he could to protect Yang. She didn't need to go feeling like she wasn't wanted just because Raven either got scared or lacked maternal instincts.

Once again, Summer jabbed at Qrow with her foot. He shifted away from her touch and couldn't help but to send a glare in Summer's direction. She smiled down at him for a moment and then pat the space directly next to her. Qrow watched the way that Summer gently nudged at Tai with her elbow.

Taiyang figured out what was going on and then scooted towards the edge of the bed, while Summer squished herself in next to Tai. Once again, Summer pat the space next to her.

Qrow smiled softly and rolled his eyes before sliding up in next to Summer. It wasn't a great fit, but Qrow was thin enough that it wasn't such a big deal. He rested his head back against the headboard and stared up at the ceiling, but then he felt Summer wrap an arm around him.

"Hey, Qrow." Summer said, quietly. "You know we love you and stuff."

"Yeah." Qrow answered Summer, keeping his volume just as hushed as Summer's was. He closed his eyes for a second before turning his head to look over at Summer. "What's going on? You finally want to throw me out?"

"What?" Summer's eyes went all wide at that for just a moment. "No! I just wanted to ask you..." She shook her head and let out a quiet sound. "You've been away so often that I didn't know whether or not you've been doing alright. It seems like the only time that we and the girls get to see you these days is because you're coming in with James just so that you can pick some things up."

Qrow opened his mouth to answer, but Summer just squeezed him gently. "I've just been worrying about you because it feels like we're losing you."

There was that guilt in his chest again. Qrow closed his eyes and tried to hide the way that concern was rising on his face. He was pretty sure that between the lines, Summer was saying that she was afraid that he'd end up running off in the same way that Raven had.

"You aren't losing me," Qrow said, not really sure that there was going to be an easy way for him to dance around this. "I just have a lot of work to do out in Atlas City and I can't really afford to miss days at work. I know I haven't been keeping in touch much but-"

"Look, if you're seeing him you can just say so." Summer deadpanned and her eyes narrowed a little bit. On the other side of the bed, Taiyang shifted uncomfortably and spoke up for himself.

"Summer, I don't-"

"Tai, he's doing the thing where he gets all pale." Summer turned her head to look over at her husband. "You know what that means as much as I do-"

Taiyang sighed heavily and his blue eyes flicked down towards his feet. He seemed all too reluctant to say anything to either Summer or Qrow at this point. If that really was what it was, Qrow wasn't so sure that he could actually go ahead and blame Taiyang for it.

"She... she is right." Taiyang said, moving so that he could climb out of bed and stand up. He took a few steps away from Summer and Qrow and leaned against the dresser top with a mirror that was on one side of the room. if he looked up, Qrow was sure that Taiyang would be able to meet Summer and Qrow's eyes.

That mirror was always one that Qrow had always gotten bad feelings about. There were some photos posted on there, of the girls when they were young, the first day that they got Zwei, and photos of Qrow, Summer, Raven, and Tai back when they were all still able to stick together and were still friends.

As far as Qrow knew, this was the only place in the entire house where Raven was actually memorialized.

But he had to say something. He had to do something. "Tai, look, it's not..." He had to hesitate, trying to think of what the best way to respond to what was going on. In theory he could go on and say outright that he wasn't seeing James, but at the same time Qrow wasn't exactly sure how true that actually was.

In theory they were seeing each other, just not in a traditional sense.

"What's not, Qrow?"

"I'm not seeing him." Qrow finally murmured. "Not really. I think... He's been through some stuff and having an empty house to himself all the time wears on him. The last few days... he's asked for me to stay with him so that he doesn't have to be home alone. There's nothing going on. Not really."

"Qrow?"

"I really am staying out there because of work. And the job I was offered at the bar is also out in Atlas City so it just makes sense for me to just stay out there instead of coming back home. I..." Qrow had to pause on his words as he worked through what the best thing he could say to them was. "I know that the girls probably miss me, and that you guys might miss having me around the house, but-"

Summer sighed heavily and shook her head, her dark red hair swaying with the motion as she turned slightly so that she could face Qrow properly. "We're just afraid that you're leaving and that we won't hear from you again like..."

Her voice trailed off.

Qrow grit his teeth when he realized that what he had feared had just been confirmed. "I'm not like Raven." Finally growled, daring to utter his sister's name even though it was typically taboo for him to do so. "I love you guys, and the girls, I even love the dog, but I can't be expected to just stay out here in Vale when I'm making a life somewhere else and it's easier for me to stay out there instead of here."

Frustration bore down into Qrow's chest and he let out a heavy sigh as he hauled himself out of the bed. "I'm sorry that things aren't as perfect as you two want, but I'm doing the best that I can."

"Qrow-"

"Summer." Qrow locked his eyes with her as he took a moment to just go ahead and smooth his clothes down on his body. "I'm doing my best. Seriously."

Taiyang finally turned around again. He leaned back against the dresser and crossed his arms over his chest as he focused his gaze down onto the floor instead of on Qrow. All of the frustration that Qrow felt seemed to be mirrored in Taiyang's form, and there wasn't going to be any getting around that.

Everyone was frustrated with the situation, and the fact of the matter was that there wasn't really anything that Qrow could actually go ahead and tell Summer and Taiyang. If he did, it didn't end well. He couldn't tell the truth about what was going on with him and James- what they were actually doing for work. He couldn't tell them that he was in contact with Raven. He couldn't tell them that he had a lot of money to his name at the moment.

He couldn't tell them a thing, and he had a feeling that this was something that was going to eventually just wear away at his relationship with Taiyang and Summer until there was nothing left or he got thrown out. Not that it was the worst thing in the world for that to happen anymore. He'd have somewhere to go but he'd lose the kids.

Qrow had seen more than enough of what it looked like when someone lost one of their kids. It wasn't quite the same, but he'd seen how worn down being pulled away from Penny had left James.

He didn't want that for himself. He didn't want that for anyone.

But he was frustrated, and he was tired, and he wasn't going to just sit there and let Taiyang and Summer beat him down more. Qrow sighed and shook his head before sliding hands down into his pockets and leaving the bedroom.

Tai's eyes were glued to his back the entire time, and Qrow found himself feeling as though he was suffocatingly aware of that. "Qrow, where are you-"

"Gas station." Qrow muttered. "I'm gonna go get something to eat and see if I can clear my head."

Taiyang and Summer exchanged a worried look that Qrow had seen a thousand times. It was the sort of thing that always showed up when they were worried about him going off to get alcohol, or like they were worried about him doing something stupid that would get them into trouble.

Qrow forced himself to ignore it- if they thought he was nothing more than a drunk then that was on them. The fact that he'd spent the night before hitting the bottle with James didn't matter. The fact that he spent nights at bars and didn't even touch a drop for himself didn't matter.

He'd passed out on their couch drunk too many times and they couldn't see him as anything else.

The rising anger in his chest was suffocating. It made him want a drink and while Qrow knew that he shouldn't have gone ahead and done a thing to do get one, he wasn't sure that he was going to be able to stop himself.

In the end, that was going to come down to what happened.

Qrow bit back his furies as he stepped into the cool night and began on his way down the road for the gas station in hopes that he would be able to find anything that would make him feel better. Qrow fully expected that nothing would be able to short of drinking himself into a stupor, but he had to try.

He was halfway to the gas station when he reached down into his phone and dialed a number that he knew he shouldn't have. He didn't expect an answer. He didn't expect anything from it, but it was something that he felt like he needed to do.

So Qrow held his phone to his ear and listened through the ring tones until someone picked up the other end of the call.

He smiled when he heard his sister's voice uttering a quiet "Hello?"


	43. Seeing Eye To Eye

The phone call with Raven didn't take long, but it left Qrow with an indescribable feeling of anxiety that wore down into his very being and refused to let him go. The reason that the call hadn't taken long was because Raven had decided that she wanted to come and talk to Qrow in person. That she wanted to see him in person.

It was rare that Qrow would be the one calling for Raven's help, and it always had been rare. Even back when they were kids, he was always the one doing the most of the helping rather than be the one to be helped. Normally, he was the strong one that was able to do anything that he wanted and would bend over backwards at the first mention that Raven needed help with something.

Despite everything that had pulled them apart, they were still family. Even though sometimes Raven made him feel like he needed to tear his hair out, and made him want to drink, and frustrated him with her normal standoffishness, he still loved her.

And she loved him back, she just didn't tend to show it in the most traditional of ways.

So things like agreeing to take her motorcycle from Atlas to Vale at three in the morning tended to be standouts in her behavior.

The two of them had agreed that they were meeting at a nice burger joint that tended to border on gourmet in their food quality. Qrow was going to be there first and he'd be getting them a table to use, and then when Raven arrived, that was going to be when they made their orders.

He sat at a table in the back part of the restaurant. It was mostly empty now, and he had decided to get a glass of beer to tie him over while he waited for Raven's arrival. On one of the tvs on the other side of the place the news was playing, giving reports about the status of the Salem Group headquarters.

Perpetrators still at large.

A hole had been blown into the foundation at some time in the early morning, probably at about the same time that Qrow had found himself pressed up against James in a kiss.

No fatalities, amazingly.

They were looking for tips wherever they could be found.

It was nerve wracking, and Qrow was almost certain that once he was done with the beer that he already had he was going to have to go ahead and ask for a second one just so that he could clear his head.

Out in Vale he felt like he had less to worry about, but the fact remained that James, Roman, Junior, Winter, and probably even Glynda all lived out in Atlas and were probably trying to glide under the radar as cleanly as possible.

The news would play clips of the Salem Group's CEO and founder talking about what had happened while her favorite employees stood behind her and listened, offering their solidarity by presence alone.

Qrow tried not to think about what his role in the job had ended up having on a lot of people.

It was easier to get by that way.

He brought his glass of beer up to his lips and drew his attention away from the screen as he heard the rumble of a motorcycle outside, and then its immediate ceasing.

The front door to the store opened and the woman who worked the cash register gave a cheery greeting.

Raven's voice greeted her, and then Qrow could make out the sound of Raven asking for someone with red eyes.

The waitress leaned forward and gestured in Qrow's direction and Raven nodded before stepping away, the heels of her boots making a quiet clicking sound against the tile floor with every step.

She slid into the booth across from Qrow and leaned back into it, tossing her long black hair over her shoulder with the motion before locking eyes with Qrow.

"Hello, brother."

"Raven." Qrow smiled as he greeted her, though it was slight. "You made it."

"The traffic wasn't much of a concern." Raven replied, her voice entirely measured with every word. "You wanted to talk?"

"I did." Qrow admitted. "Just stuff at home." He took a moment to hesitate as he tried to think of the best way to explain what was going on in his life without accidentally scaring Raven off.

This was the closest that he'd managed to get her to home in a long time, and Qrow wasn't about to go jeopardizing it because of carelessness. "Tai and Summer they..." He frowned. "I guess they think I'm trying to run off on them."

"So you're here instead of at home?" Raven deadpanned, raising an eyebrow."Doesn't seem like you're doing so well at convincing them that you won't run off."

"I was angry." Qrow explained himself. "And I needed a drink and I just didn't want to be there anymore when they were just going to second guess me for everything."

Raven let out a sound that Qrow would have guessed was her way of letting him know that she could relate to the sentiment. To everything that was going on, really. Qrow knew that she could, just whether she was willing to admit to it or not was another issue.

That wasn't to say that Summer and Taiyang were monsters or anything like that. They were good people who loved their family dearly at the end of the day, and that was part of what made them so suffocating.

The Branwen twin's upbringing didn't allow for such behaviors. If someone loved you it was kept quiet and out of the spotlight. Board game nights and sleepovers were never much of a thing unless it meant that it got one of the twins out of the house. Preferably both.

Being allowed to get out of that house early had probably saved Qrow and Raven, now that he thought about it. Getting out of that environment.

It had been a shock when he'd first ended up with Tai and Summer, that was for sure. It had been a bigger shock for Raven.

It shouldn't have ever been a surprise that one or both of them would end up leaving down the line. They could only take so much.

The fact that children were in the picture just complicated things.

He stared at the space on the table that was between him and Raven, thinking about whether or not it would be right to bring up the other issues that he'd had to deal with and talk about that night.

Would she want to know that he'd been dragged into a birthday party planning meeting? Would she want to know that Tai and Summer still silently asked whether she was going to be able to show up?

Qrow didn't have to say anything to her, it turned out. She just looked up at him and locked their eyes together before she finally spoke. "Is that all that you called me all the way out here to Vale to talk about?" She leaned in slightly. "Because if that is all..."

"They're planning her party, you know that?" Qrow said, keeping his voice on the more hushed end of the spectrum. "A perfect little party for a perfect little girl. That's what they want."

Raven seemed to freeze at that. Qrow almost felt bad for it, because at least this time around he knew for a fact that neither of them were going to be on their game. But this time around, he wasn't trying to get under Raven's skin.

"A party." Raven finally spoke. "That's what they wanted for you to help them with?"

"Yeah." Qrow confirmed. "So I have some gifts to buy I guess but..." He let out a heavy sigh because it was probably about time to start addressing the elephant in the room. "Raven, about that gift that you got her..."

Qrow didn't look up to meet his sister's eyes. He didn't want to see the thousands of feelings that were probably going to be flying over her expressions only to be snuffed out the second they get too happy, or hopeful, or even sad.

"Yes?"

"Do you want me to tell her who it's from?" Qrow reached for the glass of beer that he'd ordered upon his arrival there and brought it up to his lips so that he could drink from it. He felt like he needed it, and this time around, there wasn't really any stopping himself at this point.

Normally he could resist the urge.

Not tonight.

Not the night before, though that had been different.

"I don't know." Raven finally answered. "If you tell them..."

"Then Tai and Summer will be on my back to know whether or not you want to be around anymore." Qrow explained the situation, keeping his voice and his emotions as level as he possibly could. "If I don't tell them, they'll think I went a little too all out on gifts."

Raven shook her head and brought a hand up to her bangs, carding through them a bit rougher than she probably should have as she looked for any sort of solution.

"Have you gotten her anything?"

"No." Qrow set down the glass. "Not yet."

"And..."

"And as far as they know I have a job at Junior's."

"That seems like a lie at best." Raven commented. "Considering that I'm the one that has the job there."

"It's a half-lie." Qrow shrugged through the words. "I've been offered a position there if I want to take it." He slumped in his seat, just slightly. "Junior's a good guy like that."

Raven smiled a little bit at that, and Qrow was sure that was the first smile that he'd seen his sister crack in a very long time. She'd never really been one to smile much, for as long as Qrow could remember. The fact that it would change now was interesting, but Qrow also knew better than to try and read into anything that Raven did.

His sister had always prided herself on being hard to predict, for as long as they'd been alive.

Raven shook her head and let her gaze to drift to the glass of beer that Qrow had been enjoying so far that evening. He'd considered ordering her something when he'd come in and gotten the table, but had decided that it wasn't worth the risk of the drink getting warm before she could get to it.

"So you don't have a gift for her." Raven said, dragging the two of them back to the topic that they'd been originally on before getting briefly sidetracked. "Qrow, if you go in and you tell them who sent that gift, what will happen?"

And there it was, the elephant in the room that they weren't going to be able to get away from. It wasn't really as though they were going to be able to predict much of anything that would happen once the whole thing made it to Taiyang and Summer. That wasn't even considering the possibility of what would happen when the kids found out.

Of everything that could happen once people knew that Raven had sent a gift, the reaction that Qrow feared for the most was the one that would come from Yang herself. There was no way that the kid wasn't dealing with stresses and fears relating to her mother.

And yet here Qrow was, sitting across a table at a burger stand from Raven doing his absolute best to ignore what was going to happen once people figured things out. Once the game was over.

"I've been thinking about it." Qrow admitted, leaning back in his seat slightly and running his thumb up the side of his glass where some water was beginning to condense. Once upon a time he and Raven had made lemonade and he'd spent the entire afternoon drawing and writing in the condensation on the side of the pitcher.

Raven had made fun of him for it. Qrow hadn't minded.

"And?" Raven leaned in slightly. "What have you come up with?"

"If I tell them, they're probably going to go through that whole five stages of grieving thing in about a ten minute period of time, for one." Qrow almost chuckled out the words. "And then they'll probably want to throw me out, and then I'll end up running off to Atlas and..."

Qrow had to stop himself for thinking about that any further because of the very real possibility that he ended up getting caught up in things that he shouldn't have. Like the possibility that he would start to call that shining city home, or the fact that he could theoretically start working at Junior's bar and then he'd have as regular contact with James as he wanted.

At least, he would just until James didn't want him around anymore, and Qrow was at a point where he was sure he was counting down the days before it happened.

"And what, Qrow?" Raven's eyes narrowed a bit over his response, like she was trying to figure out whether or not there was something important that he was neglecting to tell her. And it was important, but Qrow also wouldn't exactly consider what was going on with James to be important to Raven.

It wasn't her business, and he wouldn't doubt for a second that there wasn't something that she hadn't neglected to hell him. But he didn't want to go ahead and accidentally make things worse than they should have been by neglecting to respond to her question.

She deserved better than that.

"Just thinking about someone." Qrow mumbled. "I've been spending a lot of time out in Atlas and I don't want..." He shook his head.

"If it isn't my business just say so, Qrow."

Qrow couldn't do much to contain the scowl that he knew crossed his features. This was what he'd partially been afraid of when he'd first called Raven and gone ahead to ask for her to come and meet him over a meal. He had a feeling that if they started to get too deep into things that he didn't want to talk about as opposed to the things that he did want to, then it would end up being awkward and uncomfortable.

He just hadn't really expected that the first topic that would end up in that limbo of things that he wanted to talk about but couldn't quite bring himself to would be James. He'd figured it would be something else- how he knew Junior, perhaps. Or maybe what it was that he wanted to accomplish by calling Raven there in the first place other than getting someone to vent to.

He didn't know.

But he knew that there were ways to drive Raven away from this topic. If he'd wanted to he could have gone ahead and brought up the issue of money. Raven didn't have the context on that, but he could offer her help if she needed it.

Whether she actually needed it or not was a question in itself, of course.

Based on what Qrow knew about Junior, he partially expected that Raven was being taken care of well. Junior wouldn't leave anyone out to dry, regardless of who they were or what they wanted or needed.

That was just how Junior was.

And based on those conversations that Junior and Qrow had shared, he was willing to bet that Junior perhaps was willing to go a little bit further than he would with a normal employee.

But that wasn't the matter at hand, Qrow reminded himself.

He sighed and weighed how he was going to answer his sister and finally managed to come up with something that he could say to her- it wasn't much, but it was something.

"It's not really your business," He finally said, raising his glass of beer to his lips so that he could drink from it. "And I don't know why you'd be that interested anyhow."

"I'm not allowed to take an interest in my brother?" Raven asked, her eyes narrowing almost dangerously and her leaning in a bit. "I want to ask you something about yourself and you won't even let me. "

"It's just…" Qrow felt that scowl that he'd been wearing deepen. "Raven, it's not simple. There's someone, that's all that you need to know."

"Oh?" Raven's expression turned into a smile of sorts. "Is it that partner of yours?"

Shit.

That was not what he had wanted to hear Raven say to him. He hadn't wanted for her to get any idea as to what he was doing at all, or for her to read into what she did know about James. He'd mentioned James in their first meeting, and she'd seen him for a moment, but...

This wasn't right. This was too uncomfortable.

He felt his eyes narrow and sneered at Raven for just a second, knowing that it wasn't exactly the most charming thing that he could have done. But at the same time, she was his sister- he could care less about what appearances he put out when he was with her.

Besides, he wasn't always sure whether Raven deserved him at his best. She sure as hell wasn't getting him at his best now, that was for sure.

The nearly empty glass of beer was a testament to that fact.

"Look, Rae." He started, hoping that he would be able to get her away from the topic at hand and onto something else. One that didn't involve James or possibly what he was doing for work. "Jimmy's just my partner. I mean it." He blinked, knowing that it was a lie, and he would have been willing to bet money on the fact that Raven had figured out his lie immediately. "That's not what I'm here to talk to you about."

"Then what are you here to talk to me about, Qrow?" Her voice seemed to darken in tone, and it almost sounded like a threat. If it wasn't for the fact that he and Raven had known each other for their entire lives, Qrow was sure that he would have been intimidated.

But he knew Raven well enough.

"I wanted to ask you if you were okay." Qrow finally said, keeping his voice on the more quiet side. "I know that I helped you with your rent and stuff last month, and I wanted to know if you needed help with anything else."

Qrow couldn't just ignore certain things about what happened at the table anymore. He couldn't ignore the nerves that were rising in his body and making him feel like he couldn't go ahead and speak to Raven as directly as he would have preferred.

This was just what he had to face- Qrow knew that at this point.

Raven looked away from him, her eyes training onto a spot on the wall because that was a chance for separation between the two of them. When she spoke up, Qrow couldn't even pretend that he was surprised by the answer, even though he knew that deep down he'd feel a bit surprised no matter what she said.

"I could use some help." Raven said, her voice sounding entirely too bitter. "I'm getting paid well, but I still have some bills that need catching up on." She shook her head, and her wild hair moved with her. "I don't think that I'll need any help."

"Well," Qrow said, reaching across the table so that he could offer himself to his sister. It was his best chance to go ahead and get her to open up to him. He rested his open hand on the table for her. "I'm here and I'm offering you help if you think that you want it."

He expected her to turn him down.

Raven's hand slid into the centre of the table and she let her fingertips brush against his. "I'll let you know, Qrow."

"Thanks." Qrow answered, knowing that it was the best that he could hope for from her. He would just go ahead and set some of the money from his latest job aside so that he didn't have as much to worry about in the long run. If they money was already set aside, then Raven couldn't go ahead and protest that decision.

She laced their fingers together even closer, and he felt her squeeze his hand with her own. "You don't have to do this, you do realize that, don't you?"

"I do." Qrow said, shrugging slightly. "But I want you safe and taken care of."

"You're not going to tell them, are you?"

Qrow swallowed. "No." He answered, quietly. "They don't go checking my messages or anything, so there really isn't much to worry about. They don't ask about you as long as you don't get brought up, and I make a point not to bring you up."

"Promise?"

"Yeah." Qrow said, quietly. "Promise. On my life."

Raven cracked a slight smile. "I'll hold you to that, Qrow."

"I figured that you would." He smiled softly back across the table at his sister and pulled away from Raven so that he could take a moment to reach over and grab a menu for himself to use. "So, dinner?"

"If you're buying." Her eyes drifted down to his drink. "And I would like one, if you don't mind."

Qrow blinked, and tilted his head slightly at Raven's request. He knew that he should have gone ahead and said no to her.

"Sure." He says, chuckling as he leaned back into his seat once again. "I'll get you a beer."

Raven's smile was more than enough to warm up Qrow's heart. One look from her was all that he needed.

It had been a long time since he'd last seen her smile like that and hide behind her bangs as she'd always used to when they were young.

He hoped that he'd get to see it again. 


	44. Hanging Over

"Wake up, Uncle Qrow!"

Ruby's screech shook him into consciousness in a matter that could only be described as immediate. That, joined with the fact that she'd decided to shake his shoulder with her tiny hands meant that there wasn't anyway that Qrow was going to able to sleep any longer.

Qrow peeled his eyes open and looked at Ruby with his brow furrowed and his head pounding. He'd had a few more drinks the night before than he probably should have, but once he and Raven had both been feeling loose, it hadn't mattered.

They'd ended up finding a motel room for Raven so that she'd be able to sober up instead of driving home. If Qrow had known and he'd had the private space to secretly host guests, he would have invited her home.

But he figured she probably wouldn't have been all too excited about being woken up by a screaming Ruby Rose.

She was standing next to the couch that he called his with the TV remote- she probably wanted to watch cartoons or something on the TV and needed for him to get up so that she could sit and watch there with him.

Qrow groaned and pushed himself upright, pushing his dark hair out of his eyes with one hand. "Morning, pipsqueak." He said, trying his absolute best to hide how much pain he was that morning. It had been a little while since he'd last slept on a couch.

He figured he should have expected to wake up stiff and uncomfortable.

Qrow forced himself upright and shifted slightly to make room for Ruby down by his legs. To no surprise, she climbed up next to him and plopped down on the couch with him.

"Can I watch cartoons with you?" She asked, blinking down at him with those silver eyes that were too much like her mother's.

"I'm already up, so I don't think I have much of a choice." Qrow chuckled as he sat up properly so that she could cuddle in next to him if he wanted to. "What's up, kid?"

Ruby smiled and grabbed at Qrow's blanket, tugging it around herself as she made herself comfortable there. "I just wanted to watch cartoons with you." She said, quietly. "I missed you, uncle Qrow."

Qrow tried to ignore the sharp pang of guilt in his chest over that. He'd known that he was leaving the kids behind, but at the same time...

James had needed him. Whether either of them would use those words or not was a good question, but that's what it had been. James had needed him to show up and help him, and Qrow had gone ahead and done that because it didn't seem like there was anyone else James could have asked.

"I know." Qrow said, pulling the girl in close to him and tucking the blanket around the both of them as he ignored his headache. "I missed you too, kid."

Ruby blinked and curled into the blankets more next to Qrow. He raised an arm and wrapped it around the girl to offer her some slight comfort as she cuddled in against him. He figured that he should have gone ahead and gotten up, maybe even tried getting some breakfast for the two of them.

Most days he would have gotten up and made breakfast for everyone, but he wasn't feeling it that morning. It was probably just the headache talking, Qrow thought. He'd make her breakfast when she asked for it, Qrow decided. That was the least that he could offer the girl in the long run.

He helped Ruby pick out a cartoon, and once that was done he managed to just relax into the couch. The morning became a struggle to avoid thinking too heavily about what had happened the night before between the talk with Summer and Tai, and then his meeting with Raven.

Not to mention everything that had happened with James.

Needless to say, Qrow was feeling more than a little bit emotionally drained.

"Uncle Qrow?" Ruby asked, tilting her head slightly. "If you missed us, why do you keep going away?"

"It's just easier for me to stay out in Atlas when I have work." Qrow answered. "I basically have a lot of sleepovers with James."

Ruby nodded, seeming to understand. "I like sleepovers." She said, quietly. "I like that we get to invite Penny over all the time." Ruby shifted slightly on the couch and looked up at Qrow. "Are you going to go away soon to stay with him again?"

That was a very good question, Qrow thought. He didn't know whether he was going to have to run off and see James or the rest of the group again. Or whether Raven was going to call for his presence and he'd have to make it to Atlas for that reason.

He never really knew what was going on with them- he figured that Ozpin would be paying them sometime, but even then, Qrow didn't know how good that pay would end up being. If it had just been a situation where they'd gotten out of the job cleanly, then it would be one thing.

But they hadn't gotten away as cleanly as they were supposed to. Something had happened up in that office with James and Junior, and Qrow didn't know what it was.

When he'd spent time with James after the job, they hadn't really gone ahead and talked about it. They had mostly just talked about everything else.

His mind drifted off for a bit, remembering the gentle press of James' lips against his and how comfortable he had felt. How happy he had been to be there next to James. How warm James had felt pressed up against him when they slept.

It wasn't going to work out, Qrow reminded himself.

He dragged himself back to reality as brutally as he could and squeezed Ruby in close to him in a hug. "I don't know when I'm going to have to go back up there, pipsqueak." Qrow said. "It depends on when my boss wants me there."

"And when you go up, you'll have a sleepover with Mr. Ironwood?"

"Yeah." Qrow said, releasing Ruby. "That's right."

Ruby shifted slightly. Down the hall Qrow could make out the sounds of claws touching hardwood, the most obvious sign that Zwei was on his way to join them. The sound was followed by the patter of Yang's feet against the flooring as well.

That meant that Qrow was going to have no choice but to make breakfast pretty soon. Not that he minded it that much.

"Hey Uncle Qrow." Yang said as she stepped into the living room and climbed up onto the couch on Qrow's other side. He braced himself for what came next as Zwei jumped up onto the couch and landed in his lap before scrambling over to Ruby.

"Hey Firecracker." Qrow said, smiling. He released Ruby from the hug that he had her in, and moved to get up. "You two want breakfast?"

"Yeah!" Ruby cheered. "Can you make us pancakes?"

"You want pancakes?"

Ruby's silver eyes narrowed and she tried to puff herself up and look as threatening as possible. "You've been away Uncle Qrow, we've had to eat Dad's breakfasts every morning."

Instead of denying it, Qrow made a faux shudder at the mention of Taiyang's cooking. It wasn't that Taiyang was a bad cook, it was just that he had a habit of trying to make everything spicy or in interesting ways that didn't always work. His most common 'interesting way that didn't always work' was burnt.

"Yeah, that's true." Qrow chuckled, scratching at his chest. "What do you two want then?"

"Choco-chip!" Ruby cried.

Yang shrugged. "Can we have bacon?"

"Alright." Qrow said. "Chocolate chip pancakes and bacon. You guys want eggs too?"

"Nah." Ruby answered, waving one hand.

Yang though, she just nodded and crossed her legs on the couch. "Scrambled?"

"Sounds good, kiddo."

Qrow hesitated for a moment as he was about to step back into the kitchen for the first time in a while. The last few days, when he and James had started feeling like eating, they had either ordered something or James had made something out of his freezer.

Admittedly, it wasn't the best choice of diet, but it had been enough to keep the two of them both feeling content and for that reason Qrow couldn't exactly go pretending that he minded it that much.

He began to rifle through the drawers and refrigerator in search of everything that he was going to end up needing to make their breakfast that morning. Because of his and James' little shopping trip the day before they'd ended up with more than enough of everything that they would need.

Qrow had insisted that they should get chocolate chips and pancake mix. James hadn't thought much of it but it had definitely raised one of those eyebrows. In the end, James had played along.  
He was in the middle of getting down a large mixing bowl that he could use when a voice broke Qrow out of his concentration and dragged him away from what he was doing.

"You were drinking last night."

Shit.

Qrow looked back over his shoulder to see that Summer was there, dressed in her pajama pants and a sweater that Qrow recognized quickly as having once belonged to Raven. He tried not to feel bitter about it.

"Yeah." Qrow muttered, hoping that if he was honest about it then nobody would bother him. "Didn't drive anywhere if that's what you're worried about."

"Well at least that's one thing you did right." Summer commented, stepping in and leaning against one of the counters. "I'm sorry about last night, Qrow."

"Are you?" Qrow answered as he tore open the bag of pancake mix that he'd set down in the mixing bowl. He turned it and watched as the powdery mixture began to pour out. It smelled too sweet.

"Yeah." Summer said, quietly. "Look, it's just..." She shook her head. "It's a hard time of year for us, you know that."

That made the hair on the back of Qrow's neck begin to raise. He'd wished that this wasn't the pathway that their conversation would begin to go in, but here they were. It was just a matter of keeping the taboo parts of the conversation off the table and making their conversation happen in code.

"It's fine." Qrow finally muttered. He tried not to sound bitter. "Look, I just went to try and clear my head. I know that I shouldn't have, but I did, and I made sure it was away from the girls."

"Qrow." Summer said, softly. "Don't act like this is okay. Any of it. We shouldn't have-"

"Summer, it's fine." Qrow mumbled. "I know it's hard on you two. Planning a party is stressful, and with everything else, it's not easy." He sighed, and he let himself lean against the counter with his arms stretched all the way out at his sides. "I just want to make the girls breakfast."

"Would you like help?" Summer offered, stepping in close to him. "Tai is still asleep, so if you want to just talk one on one..."

Qrow grit his teeth, not really feeling sure that he actually wanted to say yes to Summer about this, but also knowing that it was best not to turn her down. "Yeah, help wouldn't hurt." Qrow said. "They said they wanted scrambled eggs and Yang wanted bacon."

"And Ruby wanted pancakes?"

"Chocolate chip as always." Qrow chuckled, focusing on what he was making for food again. "Anything you want special, or?"

"Nah." Summer answered. "Tai will want bacon too is the only thing."

"I know." Qrow smiled. "And cayanne on his eggs. He's predictable."

Summer laughed and shook her head, her eyes crinkling up a little bit at the corners. "Yeah, that's Tai for you." She paused and looked at him over her shoulder as she began to wash her hands. "What about you?"

"What?" Qrow asked. "What about me?"

"Is there anything you want for your own breakfast?" Summer offered, and it sounded to Qrow like she was trying to figure out what else he'd been up to the night before. She was probably trying to figure out when he'd gotten back in the night before. Or maybe she was trying to figure out whether he was so hungover that sleep was out of the question.

Qrow shrugged. "I could kill for some french toast, but I'm not going to go forcing anyone to make them for me." He sighed as he cracked the first egg into the bowl in front of him. "Summer, don't feel like you have to..."

"I don't." Summer answered. "I figured I'd offer." She hesitated. "So, when did you get in?"

"Two, I think." Qrow answered, quietly. He was going to have to dance around everything that had happened the night before now, but Qrow had already prepared himself for that. "I ended up going to a bar and having a few beers and a burger."

"Mhmmm." Summer hummed contentedly. "And did you spend your time with anyone, or was this all lonely barfly Qrow?"

Qrow shrugged. "Do waitresses count?"

Summer paused and turned to face him directly now, her eyebrow raised. "Waitresses?"

"Yeah." Qrow turned on the stovetop and moved so that he could face Summer directly now. "Waitresses." The word was too heavy on his tongue, an old lie he'd told plenty of times.

She blinked twice, seemingly trying to figure something out about what she could say to him. Qrow was already bracing himself for her to say something disapproving or start digging and trying to figure out whether he was lying or not.

"Qrow, I thought that you and James-" She cut herself off and pursed her lips. "Please tell me that you aren't..."

Qrow did not need any prompting to know exactly what it was that Summer was talking about. The fact that she would even go ahead and bring it up as a possibility was something that honestly was enough to leave Qrow feeling more than just a little bit offended.

He knew that he didn't always tend to be the most reliable person out there. He knew that over the course of his life he'd probably done a lot of things that weren't actually that good. But he'd never figured that anyone would assume that he would go ahead and do things like cheat on someone.

"Summer?" He raised his voice and hoped to god that he wouldn't end up sounding as offended as he actually felt. "Why would you-"

"Qrow." Summer answered, and her voice almost sounded deadly when she spoke. It definitely was a turn that Qrow hadn't expected from Summer at all, but somehow it all made sense that she would turn things towards this direction. He was the one who mentioned waitresses, but he hadn't thought that it would be taken so seriously. "What's going on with you and him?"

He was going to have to come clean about it all eventually- Qrow did know that, but that didn't mean that he wanted to deal with it. He certainly didn't want to have to talk about what was going on between him and James when he had just been accused of possibly cheating on the poor guy. So Qrow sucked in a breath and prayed silently that he would be able to get out of this one relatively unscathed.

"I don't know." He finally answered. "Not dating, but it's weird." He hesitated, weighing what he wanted to say carefully out of fear that he would accidentally say too much or end up sounding like he was incriminating himself in another way. "Summer, do you..." Qrow had to stop himself. He knew where this was going. He knew exactly where this conversation was going and he was afraid of the fact that he had to go there with it.

He didn't want to bring Raven up, but it felt like it was the only way that he could get things done.

"Do I what, Qrow?"

Qrow sighed and rubbed his face for a moment before dropping his volume as low as he could manage, just for the sake of his and Summer's conversation being able to go without any interruptions. "Do you... remember how Raven was?" Pause. "At the start I mean."

"Qrow?"

He shook his head. He knew that this was wrong to bring up, but he had to do it. To explain what was going on with James, he had to talk about Raven because that was at least something that Summer would be able to understand- at least on some level.

"She was always changing. Hot and then cold, mixed messages everywhere." A third voice entered into the mix, and when Qrow looked over his shoulder he saw that Taiyang had decided to join them in the kitchen at some point.

Great. Just great.

"Right." Qrow said, confirming what Taiyang had said. He remembered hearing about how Raven was to date a thousand times back when they'd all been younger. When Taiyang or Summer couldn't quite figure Raven out, they'd always gone to Qrow because surely he would know. Usually he just didn't know what he could actually say to the two of them to make things better. "Jim is the same way."

"But he seems so..." Summer began to speak and she had to pause. "He seems so sure of himself."

"Not in that way." Qrow answered. "I don't know what is going on between me and him. Some days he doesn't mind me being around, even cuddled up with me and we may have gotten a little cozier than we would have expected. Kissing and the like."

He shook his head and sighed. "But it's weird. Some days it feels like he's into me, but on other days it feels like he doesn't want anything to do with me. I just wish he was at least a little bit consistent about the whole thing."

"Qrow?" Summer asked, her voice going all gentle, but staying quiet. "It bothers you, doesn't it?"

"I mean," Qrow had to hesitate. He couldn't exactly just go ahead and say that it wasn't bothering him that James had been so hot and cold with him. He needed to think of something that he could say that would actually adequately explain things as Qrow saw them. There was an important piece that Qrow had never really brought up with James, and he had a feeling.

"I think he has a lot of reasons for being like this with me." Qrow finally managed to get the words out. "The guy's... well, we'll say that he's been through a lot in the last year or two. And I'm pretty sure that ex wife of his was his one and only."

He looked between Summer and Taiyang both. Those words seemed to have had the desired effect as realization dawned on Summer's face first, and Taiyang was quick to understand as well. Taiyang leaned against the wall and just crossed his arms over his chest before letting out a quiet. "Huh."

"So what you're saying is..." Summer's eyes met Qrow. She didn't have to finish what she was saying and both of them knew that. Qrow's only response to her was to nod pensively since she seemed to have gotten the message. "Have you talked to him about it, or..."

"There's not really a good way to," Qrow explained. "That's the thing. I feel like if I tried I'd end up getting sent away for it." He shook his head, and tried to keep all of the bitterness out of his voice that was threatening to rise up. "I like the guy, I'm just worried that I'm becoming some sort of weird... side thing for him that he's never quite going to acknowledge or attach to." He sighed and raised one hand over the stovetop in front of him to check whether it felt hot enough to cook on yet. Qrow took two steps away and got to the sink, where he turned on the water and let it run over his fingers so that he could splash some of it into the skillet that he'd gotten out for his pancake making.

"It hurts, doesn't it?" Taiyang asked, quietly. "Qrow, you don't have to-"

Qrow flicked the water into the pan and heard it sizzle away into nothing at a more than satisfactory speed. "I know that I don't have to do anything." Qrow cut Taiyang off. "But I want to be there and help the guy out. Besides, he's given me a good place to stay while I'm working up there and I've even been moved off of the couch and into the guest room instead."

He shook his head. He should have known better than to read into that as being anything other than him ot being a complete pariah when he was over there. It was still a few rooms off from where Qrow would have personally preferred to be, but that wasn't the big deal. That wasn't something that he should have been focusing on.

Besides, he was probably just an emotional sink for James and as much as that hurt to think about, Qrow was learning to just accept it. Their kiss the other night, and everything leading up to and following it had all probably meant nothing. A side effect of alcohol and adrenaline and the thankfulness that the two of them were both alive.

"Do you think.."

"I don't know what I think anymore." Qrow said with a quiet sigh. "People don't come with instruction manuals and the best that I can do for the guy is to just try and be there for him because that way I might at least be able to figure him out."  
It was too accurate, even with the night before considered. Raven didn't have an instruction manual either.

Summer stepped over and carefully wrapped her arms around him from behind. Once upon a time, Qrow would have felt something over it, but these days, he didn't get much of anything out of such closeness. Not from Summer, and not from Tai.

"It'll be okay, birdbrain." She said quietly before releasing him a few seconds later. "You know that we're here for you not matter what happens, right?"

Qrow's mind went back to the conversation the night before with Raven. He couldn't be confident that what Summer was saying was truthful. Not when he was hiding so much from them.

The fact of the matter was that once things started falling apart and Tai and Summer found out about his contact with Raven, then that was it. He didn't know what would happen, just be was more than sure that whatever happened wouldn't be good for him.

Maybe he should go ahead and talk to James about it all, Qrow thought. Maybe that would help him to figure things out, he thought.

"Thanks." Qrow finally brought himself to speak in hopes that it would be just enough to convince everyone else in the room that he was alright. He focused in on the cooking that he had in front of him and began to bury himself in it as best as he could, with thoughts running through his head the entire time.

He'd probably end up calling James later on in the night to figure out whether the guy was doing alright or not. Qrow knew that it was entirely likely that he would end up being pushed away as a result of asking, but after the day before he wanted to know that James was going to be alright.  
Besides, it was going to be a chance for him to talk to James to set up a contingency plan in case Summer and Taiyang did eventually find out about what was going on with Raven.

As he cooked, the world seemed to fade away a little bit until he was putting pancake after pancake in a stack that was located at his side. On his left, Summer was taking her time and cooking the scrambled eggs for the girls, while Taiyang was getting tableware out so that they wouldn't end up with a gigantic mess in the living room.

All of them knew better than to trust six years olds with syrup near hard to clean furniture.

In the living room, Qrow heard his phone vibrate against the coffee table where he'd left it, and then it was followed closely by Ruby's yell.

"Uncle Qrow!"

He couldn't help but smile a little bit at that. Usually the kids would let him know when his phone went off.

"What is it, pipsqueak?' Qrow set down what he had in his hands and picked up a washcloth so that he could get anything off of his hands. He walked over to the doorframe and leaned against it to see that Ruby and Yang were sitting there on the couch with Zwei.

"Someone sent you a message." Ruby said, looking up at him with those too bright eyes.

"Yeah?" Qrow asked. "Who is it?"

Ruby squirmed forward and reached for his phone, picking it up and getting it to at least show the notifications. "It's..." Her tiny brow screwed up a little bit in concentration as she read what was displayed there. "It says it's someone named... Roman?"

She cocked her head to the side, and Qrow felt his heart speed up a little bit at that. He stepped into the living room properly and dumped the washcloth on a counter beside him on his way out of the room.

He walked over to where Ruby was sitting as quickly as he could and picked up the phone, immediately unlocking the message to see that it was in fact Roman. Qrow felt his heart speed up a little bit over that, and he looked between the girls. "Go to the dining room, I think breakfast is about ready for you guys."

Ruby opened her mouth a little bit like she wanted to say something but didn't. She just got up and went out to the living room with Yang following close after her.

Once he knew he was alone, Qrow finally opened the message from Roman.

It was simple. Just basic instructions on when they wanted to do a meeting. Apparently Ozpin had gotten ahold of Roman with information about payment and they needed to do a meeting as immediately as possible about what was going on.

Despite the simplicity of the messages though, Qrow was left with a lot of questions. Roman, or rather, Ozpin, was calling for a meeting that Friday evening. He doubted that James would actually show up for it if he had Penny with him, and the fact that they wanted to do it as a proper in-person meeting was telling.

It seemed like something was wrong.

Qrow had to force himself to put the phone down so that he could start to focus on literally anything other than what he had just read. He had a breakfast with his family to look forward to, there was no need to be worrying about work again, or whether or not there were arrest warrants out for them or not.

No.

This was supposed to be a good time.

He took a little bit of extra time in the living room so that he could just sort out his thoughts and start breathing easily again so that he wouldn't go into the dining room looking anywhere near as panicked as he was actually feeling in that moment. Qrow took a moment to take a deep breath and calm himself down before he finally stepped back into the dining room where the girls had taken their seats and were waiting for their food to finally be served to them.

He slumped down into one of the empty seats beside Ruby and made himself comfortable as Taiyang began to get food onto the kid's plates.

Qrow didn't know that he wanted to eat that much anymore- mostly, he was just struck in the mind that he could have really used a drink instead of having something to eat. There were too many issues with the contact from Roman that were making him feel like his world was flipping upside down.

But Qrow could force normalcy and go through the day like there was nothing wrong with what was going on.

And so when food was served, he forced himself to eat. He sat through movies with the kids because it was the most normal thing that he could think to do.

At around noon, he forced himself to go out and on a walk because he was fairly certain that it was going to be the only way that he was going to be able to clear his head.


	45. Intruder

Penny's eyes were bright with pure joy as she climbed into the passenger's seat of James' car with a stuffed seal wrapped up in her arms.

James' hips were aching and he mostly wanted to lie down, but he'd decided that it was for the best that he rode out the rest of the day with Penny and do his best to keep her happy and comfortable. They'd been together for two days now, and he was doing his best to stay on top of things as a parent while also dealing with the fact that he'd gotten contacted by Roman at some point and now had to deal with that, at least in theory.

Though James knew that he should have, he hadn't gone ahead and tried to contact Roman after hearing that Ozpin wanted a meeting later on in the week. There were a lot of reasons for it- the big one being that he didn't want to distract himself too much from being there for his daughter on one of the few occasions that he had her for more than just a weekend.

Roman could wait. Everyone could wait. Junior could, Ozpin could, Glynda and Winter, even Qrow.

Right now, the only person that mattered in James' life was Penny. And he was going to make sure that she was well taken care of- even if that meant having to buy tickets to see the aquarium every day for a week straight.

"Can we get ice cream, father?" Penny asked as she buckled herself into her seat and made herself comfortable there. James climbed in at her side and took a moment to check his mirrors- mostly a precaution at this point that had been born out of having Qrow drive every time that the two of them were together.

"We have ice cream at the house, Penny." James answered as he finally pulled his hand away from the mirror to look over at his daughter. It was getting to be a bit late, and he was pretty sure that when he got them home she was probably going to be straight off to bed.

"Can we have ice cream when we get home, then?" Penny looked up at him and smiled, her green eyes just shining with happiness.

James knew that he should have said no, or he should have thought of something a little bit better that he could offer the girl for something to eat, but at the same time James knew that he just wasn't going to be able to manage it. He never could say no to Penny, not really. Those eyes had been able to melt him since the day that she'd been born and he'd first held her in his arms.

He let out a heavy sigh and finally brought himself to give Penny some sort of answer to her question. "Sure, Penny." He said, keeping his voice a little more on the quiet side instead of raising it too much. "We'll get you a bowl when we get home, alright?"

Penny nodded and settle back into the seat as comfortably as she could manage as James finally began the drive back home, with Penny chattering away about her favorite exhibits that she'd seen that day at the aquarium. She'd rather liked the touch tanks, but James had been more interested in the displays on submarine construction.

He didn't expect her to be into that sort of thing. Not that James would really expect for anyone to be into that other than him.

But he'd always liked building things when he got the chance to.

For the most part James was able to turn his mind off to everything that was happening and just focus on the drive back to the house. It was getting late in the day, and as a result traffic was relatively clear. It meant that when James drove he was able to let himself relax, even if it was only a little bit.

When he pulled into the neighborhood where his home was, James noticed that there was a dark green car parked out in front of the gate that looked like it was empty. He raised an eyebrow at it, but figured that it was probably a guest of one of his neighbors.

Nothing to be alarmed by.

He paid it no mind as he pulled into the driveway in front of his house, passed his keys over to Penny so that she could unlock the house, and James just took his time getting out of the car before joining Penny at the door and letting her in.

"Father!" Penny called. "It's still unlocked."

James had to pause over that revelation. There was no way that he'd forgotten to lock the door on the way out that day, had he? He reached down into his pocket to find his personal phone and check whether or not he had any sort of security alerts from the house. Nothing was there, so James had to just think.

"Penny," James started, dropping his volume and edging in front of her. "I want you to go to the car, and don't do anything unless I come out and tell you, okay?" It was probably a drastic measure on his part, but James couldn't think of anything else to do.

"Father-"  
"If something sounds like it's wrong, I want you to run to Mr. Oobleck's house, okay?" James gave his instructions in the most careful method that he could. He placed his cell phone in Penny's hand. "If I'm gone for more than 15 minutes, I want you to call the police, okay Penny?"

"Father-"

"Just listen to me, Penny." James said, quiet and feeling scarily calm. "It's important, okay?"

Fear flickered through Penny's expression, and James just reached out and pulled her close to him as a thousand possibilities went through his head. He just needed to get in, check whether or not someone had taken anything from his home, and then he was going to have to come back and make sure that Penny was fine.

"Go." He whispered, and she stepped away before climbing into the front seat of his car, clutching her new toy a little too tightly to her chest.

That left James alone, and he had to take a deep breath before he reached for the door to his home. As quickly as he could, James made a mental plan for how he was going to deal with things and how he was going to check the house.

It was easy, for the most part. It was almost like falling back into his old military training, in a way.

With an inhale James pushed the door open to see that the first two rooms that he was met with- the mostly conjoined kitchen and living room were both empty. Nothing seemed like it had been disturbed at all. The odds were that his home hadn't been invaded at all, but James couldn't just let that go.

Not when he was the subject of a manhunt, regardless of how well he hid.

James made a beeline for his office, and that was when he first realized something was truly wrong. When he was home, James always kept the door to his personal office closed, but right now, the door was slightly ajar.

That answered that question, he supposed. James grit his teeth and pushed the door open to his office.

He took half a step inside when he realized that someone was there, sitting in his chair and holding one of the photographs of Penny that James kept on his desk in their hand. The way that the seat was turned meant that James couldn't immediately figure out who was there.

Whoever they were, they knew something, and that was terrifying.

"Hello, James."

Ozpin.

"What are you doing here?" James nearly growled the words out, and he could practically feel his blood pressure rising over the fact that Ozpin had even considered breaking into his home to do anything.

"Is this your daughter?" Ozpin asked, turning their seat slightly so that they could look at James over the frames of their too-small glasses. "She looks like a lovely girl." They set the photo down, just where it had originally been placed on James' desk and finally looked up at James. "I wanted to speak to you."

James couldn't believe what he was hearing. He took a step to the side to see that Ozpin had gotten into his computer and presumably was looking for something there. It looked like they had pulled up a set of design documents that James had worked on a year or two prior.

He swallowed. "So you decided that you were going to break into my house?"

"I didn't feel confident that you would answer calls." They paused. "I've heard that you haven't responded to the calls for another meeting."

"I have my daughter this week." James answered, keeping his voice as solid as he could and standing as tall as he could manage. "And she's in the car with instructions to call the police should-"

"The police?" Ozpin turned the seat even more now and rested their elbows on the desk in front of them. "I'd think that you'd know to avoid them."

"Ozpin." James nearly growled the name out. "My daughter is with me this week, I haven't responded for a reason." He shook his head. "You broke into my house because I haven't answered a phone call?"

"I needed to speak to you again, James."

"You've spoken to me enough."  
"James." Ozpin said, their voice hard. "Go get your girl and let her in. I can wait until your sweet..." They paused and looked over at the photo. "What's her name?"

The question was sudden and left James feeling a bit taken aback. He let his eyes flicker over to the clock so that he would know how much of a window he had to speak to Ozpin before Penny would go ahead and call the police. He inhaled deeply, feeling incredibly uncomfortable with the question, but James didn't know what not answering would give him over Ozpin that was going to give him in the end.

"Her name is Penny."

"Penny." Ozpin answered, smiling slightly. "Go get her, and do what you have to."

"Ozpin-"

"James." They paused. "I can wait."

James looked back at the door over his shoulder and steeled himself to go out and make it look like things were alright to Penny. She was going to be scared when he went and got her, but that was something that he could talk his way out of. Justify it as him wanting to just check through the house to make sure things were okay.

"Alright." James finally said before his eyes strayed over to the computer. The blueprints on the screen were concerning, and James had a feeling that whatever ended up happening was going to be too important to ignore. He couldn't pretend that he wasn't worried that Ozpin had gone through everything in his house, but he needed to be able to go ahead and check on Penny first.

He stepped out of the office and closed the door behind him to make sure that it was secure before he finally made his way out of the house to the driveway where Penny was still sitting in his car, looking terrified and still clutching that toy of hers. He went to the door and pulled it open for her before beckoning her out.

"Is everything okay, father?"

"Everything is alright, princess. I just forgot to lock the door." James said before giving Penny a quick hug and offering her his hand so that he could walk her inside feeling safe. She took it, and he smiled down at her for a moment before the two of them went inside.

Penny separated herself from him and made a beeline for the couch, while James went to the kitchen to fix her a bowl of ice cream to enjoy before bed.

He still knew that he shouldn't have been doing that, but he wanted to make sure that Penny was feeling safe even more now.

With a bowl of ice cream procured, James seated himself next to Penny where she was sitting. "Happy?" He asked, his voice quiet.

"I am, father." Penny set down her spoon and looked up at him with bright eyes. "I'm glad I get to be here with you." It was clear to James that the nervousness hadn't gone away.

"I'm happy to have you here too, Penny." James said, quietly. "I miss you a whole lot when you're with your mom."

"I miss you too." Penny replied, keeping her voice in the same volume as James'. "But I get to see you now!"

"Yeah." Smile. "We get to be together for the whole week, and I'm not going to let anything get in the way of me spending time with you." James tried not to feel bitter about it, about the way that he was feeling with all things considered. Ozpin was in his office waiting for whenever Penny went to bed and James would be able to talk.

There was almost no way that James was going to be able to guarantee that nothing got in the way of his time with Penny. If Ozpin hadn't shown up, then that would have been one thing, but they were there in James' home.

They'd broken into his home- and that was a story that James was going to get to the bottom of sooner than later if he could manage it. He had a feeling about how Ozpin could have managed it , but he didn't want to guess so easily.

There was always the question of how Ozpin had gotten there-

James thought back to the car parked by the entrance of the community.

That had to be it.

"You really mean that, father?" Penny asked, digging back into her ice cream with her spoon. "Remember when we went to the aquarium before?"

James nodded, slowly. "I do." He whispered. "I'm sorry that I got in a car crash after that, Penny. I'm sure you were very scared."

"You... aren't going to have that happen again, are you?"

James could have felt his heart break a thousand times over. He wanted to go ahead and make Penny promises that said that nothing was going to him again, but he couldn't really make that promise as long as he was still working for Ozpin on the side. As long as he was doing that, he couldn't guarantee anything about what would happen to him.

But James needed to comfort Penny, no matter what.

"Penny," James said quietly. "You know I won't let that happen again, but-"

"But?" Her eyes went wide and sad.

James swallowed. He had to fix this.

"But I can't make promises that accidents won't happen, Penny." He said, quietly. "I can't control everything in the whole world, you know that, right?"

Penny nodded.

"Alright." James whispered. "Finish your ice cream."

To James' relief, Penny did just that, and she took her time with it for the most part. While she ate, James got up and took his time to make sure that the rest of the kitchen was cleaned up.

It wasn't easy- there was a big part of him that told him that he should have been trying to get in contact with Qrow to tell him that Ozpin had made another appearance. Whether he wanted to give Qrow the specifics of how Ozpin had decided to appear or not was another issue.

He didn't want anyone else in the group feeling like they couldn't trust what they were coming home to on any night. The fact that he was dealing with that as an issue was one thing, and he wouldn't have wished it on anyone else.

Already James was wondering how safe his home actually was.

Ozpin had gotten in somehow, and they had decided to make it obvious to him that they were there.

That made James wonder how much Ozpin knew about his home life and anyone else's home life.

But that was the thing- there were gaps already that told James quite plainly that Ozpin didn't know much about his home life. They hadn't known Penny's name, and they didn't seem to know that Penny was there with James until he had mentioned it specifically.

Maybe all they knew about was James' address and what he used to do for work.

That wasn't at all ideal, but it was a small comfort.

Penny finished her ice cream, and decided to help James as he cleaned up the kitchen and her dirty dishes before James was ushering her upstairs to get ready for bed. James didn't rush her- mostly because he didn't actually care how long Ozpin was left waiting to be able to talk to him one on one.

When they'd decided to break into his home, they'd forfeited their rights to a timely meeting.

James tucked Penny in for bed at around nine thirty at night with her green teddy bear and the new stuffed seal that she'd picked out at the aquarium. He ended up reading to her a little bit before bed, and once she was sound asleep James slipped out of his daughter's room silently.

He closed the door behind him as quietly as he could manage, lingering there for just a moment too long.

His nerves began to get ahold of him again, reminding James that he was going to have to go down and he was going to have to meet with Ozpin in his office about whatever it was that Ozpin wanted to talk to him about.

There were a lot of possibilities that came to James' mind for what they could want. It was possible that they were there looking to talk about what had happened at the benefit and how things had fallen apart so quickly.

After James had left with everyone else, he didn't actually know what had happened in the time before they'd been picked up on the side of the road by Ozpin and brought to their various homes.

And even then, once he and Qrow had been home things had been impossible to think about much other than what had been happening on his couch.

Not responding to Roman also meant that James was a little bit more out of the loop than he would have been normally.

All things considered, it didn't make for a pretty picture for James to look forward to.

He inhaled deeply and rubbed at his eyes before he finally made his way down the stairs so that he could give Ozpin the meeting that they were apparently so desperate to have.

James got himself a glass of water and then he finally went to the office, where he pulled the door open to see that Ozpin was still there in the seat at his desk, but this time they had a book open in front of them.

James recognized it. It was about architecture- one of James' interests that he hadn't gotten to pursue in any real capacity.

The sound of the door opening and closing behind James made Ozpin snap their head up so that they could finally start their meeting.

"I suspect your child is well?"

"Her name is Penny." James reminded Ozpin. "And she's fine. Safe and sound in bed." He paused. "I think it should go without saying that I would prefer this meeting to be as quiet as we can manage."

"But of course." Ozpin answered, setting the book down on the desk without bothering to bookmark it at all. "I've been meaning to speak to you, James."  
"I figured as much." James answered as he let himself lean against the side of his desk. "Seeing as you've broken into my home."

"I do have to apologize for that." Ozpin said, quietly. "I just figured that it would be the best place to get your attention where we could meet in private." They paused. "You should get your security system improved."

"I'll keep it in mind." James sighed the words out. "What is this about?"

"You know that the benefit didn't go quite as well as it was supposed to, James." Ozpin said, turning their seat slightly so that the two of them didn't have such well established contact between them. It was a way of putting up a wall and trying to throw James off.

It was working, at least on some level.

"I'm aware." James mumbled, quietly. "We couldn't have planned for the safe to be like that." He shook his head. He should have done better at training Junior- but he'd also told Junior everything that was reasonable to know.

"But of course." Ozpin answered him. "I wanted to have all of you meet this week to discuss payment." The paused. "But you've made yourself scarce since the benefit and I've been concerned."

"As I said earlier," James almost growled the word out. "I've been trying to spend time with my daughter instead of..." He shook his head, reminding himself that it wouldn't do to get emotional over this. "I can't abandon her, Ozpin." Pause. "Not for work. Not again."

Ozpin hummed quietly. "You haven't talked to anyone about it, have you?"

James froze.

Those weren't words that he'd been expecting to hear. He hadn't expected for what had happened to be brought up at all, really, but there it was.

"No." He finally admitted. He had to swallow back a lump that had began to form in his throat over it. He'd gone ahead and told Qrow some things- not much, but some. And he'd talked to Junior about things, but it was still minimal.

There were a lot of things that he'd gone without saying for a long time, and James didn't want to push his worries and fears onto anyone else.

That's why he'd been so silent about the issues.

"That..." Ozpin paused, and for a moment they almost sounded like they were a human. Like they were on the same planet as James. "That can't possibly be healthy."

James swallowed the lump in his throat. He didn't know how he was expected to answer this comment, or what he was supposed to say to Ozpin about this thing. He hadn't wanted to have to talk about what had happened on that job to anyone, really.

But now he wasn't being given much of a choice in that matter.

Ozpin was there, and if anyone knew what had happened better than anyone, it was them.

"No." He confirmed, James knowing that his jaw was a little too tight and his expression a little too strained. "No, it probably isn't."

"Do any of them know, James?" They asked, keeping their voice down for fear of what would happen should Penny wake up.

"No." Pause. "They don't know the full story, at the very least. I'm sure that they have ideas about what happened with a lot of gaps in the story, but not the full thing." He paused again. "Not to my knowledge. My injuries-"

"They hurt, don't they?" Ozpin asked, quietly. "They're so severe that I can't imagine them not hurting."

James swallowed. He couldn't bring himself to look at Ozpin properly. Not now, not with this on the table for their discussion. "They don't know." James thought of Qrow for a moment and he reminded himself that it didn't do for him to lie about this. "For the most part, they don't know."

"So you have told someone."

"I've given bits and pieces." James responded, knowing that it was important to stay on top of things for fear of being bowled over by Ozpin's personality, as otherworldly as it tended to be. James knew that they weren't, but there was just something about Ozpin that was so different.

Ozpin leaned back in their seat, which gave a quiet groan under their weight. "It's on your mind often, isn't it?" They spoke quietly, and James let himself glance over at Ozpin out of the corner of his eye. They were sitting there, looking like they were mostly relaxed, but there was a definite look of concern on their expression that James couldn't quite bring himself to go ahead and ignore.

Ozpin showing any sort of concern couldn't be good- regardless of the situation.

It wasn't possible for James to just answer that outright. The accident itself wasn't constantly on his mind anymore- now he was mostly dealing with the aftermath of everything that had happened. Once in a while nerves and anxiousness would bite at him and make him feel like he wasn't doing well.

But the accident and the crash? They were rarely there these days. Mostly because James had started to give up on trying to piece together the parts that he did remember properly with the parts that were messy and out of place. There were things that James was even convinced were just the products of dreams.

Not that James could even say that.

"It..." He paused. "It is." James finally brought himself to admit to it. "Not the ways that you probably think, but it's there. Like..."

"Background noise." Ozpin finished for him.

James paused and looked over at them now, allowing for their eyes to meet in something that revealed a certain sort of vulnerability that existed in the both of them. "Yes." He mumbled. "Exactly."

"I'm sure you're wondering why I wanted to speak to you, James."

"I am." James mumbled. "Especially since you decided to break into my home."

"That job, with the accident." Ozpin began, drawing James' attention and locking it in a way so that James couldn't even begin to consider pulling himself away from it. "What were you all doing?"

James paused, reaching back into his memory to try and put together a story from a fateful day that he hadn't been able to see to the end properly. He swallowed as a thousand things started rushing back to his mind that he didn't want to think about.

He remembered every meeting, standing at the front of the room with the maps. He remembered his friends gathered in his office. He remembered Winter sitting in his chair where Ozpin sat now, and the way that Junior would lean against the back wall next to the window while Roman would seat himself on top of James' desk for no reason other than that he wanted to.

He remembered the way that they would watch and listen as he and Glynda brought them through a thousand plans.

There had been a certain sort of teamwork there, one that James had become used to after a long time of learning how to do what he needed to do. It was never easy work, and Roman had seemed to taken to being one of the organizers of jobs well enough. The knowledge that the last thing that James had helped to arrange had ended in something akin to failure wasn't a good one.

There was a reason they had called him the General.

James and Ozpin's eyes met, and all at once, James knew what Ozpin was asking him for.

He didn't speak. He just stepped out of the room to grab a place to sit, and when he sat back down there across from Ozpin they set to work.


	46. Dropped Connection

Qrow closed his phone after sending a text message off to Raven. He could practically feel his heart about to beat through his chest, but he couldn't do anything to stop it. Anxiety always tended to show up when it came to Raven. Now more than usual, because of his position.

He was pillowed between Taiyang and Summer, which was a rare occurrence these days but it wasn't one that Qrow didn't tend to mind at all. He'd spent most of his day with Taiyang and Summer taking care of the kids as the three of them tried to figure out how to take care of Yang's birthday as subtly as they could.

They didn't want the girl figuring things out before they could get all of the surprises in line, after all.

But while Summer and Taiyang were trying to talk about presents and supplies as covertly as they could manage, Qrow was doing his own work in secret. The text message that he'd just sent off was enough evidence of that.

Raven and him and been texting back and forth all day, and it had Qrow feeling partially exhausted. He was trying to make plans so that he would be able to go out to Atlas to see her, and do it while he was already going to have business there. He had to go and meet with Roman, after all.

But the more important thing was that he needed to talk to Raven. There was always a lot going on when it came to his sister, and Raven was actually sounding like there were things that she wanted to go ahead and make happen in the very near future.

It was sounding like she actually wanted to try and make contact with Yang around the girl's birthday. Whether Qrow was going to have to claim that he was taking his niece for a day out was going to be a question, since it was still up in the air whether or not Raven wanted for Taiyang and Summer to know.

Qrow got the feeling that at the end of it all there was going to be no keeping secrets about Raven's involvement. That just wasn't a luxury that he was afforded these days if having her close in person was going to be a part of the picture.

Besides, if she met Yang without Taiyang and Summer finding out, Qrow didn't think that Yang would keep that particular secret so well. Nor to mention that he was afraid for what would happen if that meeting occurred.

Mostly, Qrow wanted for Raven to talk to Taiyang and Summer- he knew that it was a chance for his sister to be able to start putting herself back together despite everything that had happened over the years.

He didn't blame her for running.

He could blame her for refusing to come back.

But even then, Qrow knew that it wasn't right to push Raven to do so when they didn't know what they would actually have to face.

Qrow groaned and dropped his phone back into his lap before resting his head on Taiyang's shoulder. It didn't mean anything, since it was mostly just a product of the fact that Taiyang had made for a good pillow ever since they'd first met. He felt a large hand pat his hair down, and Qrow raised a hand to wave it away.

"Something wrong, birdbrain?" Taiyang asked jokingly as Qrow made himself a little bit more comfortable there. "You seem upset."

"Just tired." Qrow answered. "Friend's been blowing up my phone and I didn't sleep that great." Qrow frowned bitterly and stared down the length of the couch. Ever since he'd been allowed to sleep in a bed again he was finding himself missing James' guest room even more.

"Oh." Taiyang answered, his blue eyes glued to the television screen in front of them. "You think about just turning off your phone?"

"Nah, don't think I can." Qrow answered. "It sounded important and I don't want to be the one cutting people off when they need it." Hs eyes flicked up to meet Taiyang's, and for the first time when he looked into those blue eyes since he'd met James, Qrow felt nothing.

Taiyang's were blue, but they were different. They didn't have that subtle coldness in them that James' eyes did when he got frustrated or tired, and they didn't turn lighter as they got closer to the pupils. Taiyang's eyes were nice- they always had been.

But Qrow recognized now that they were nothing like what he saw in James' eyes. There was just something different that he couldn't quite put his finger on.

If there was any sign that there might have been something wrong with him for how he dealt with James, Qrow couldn't think of one better than that.

"Look at you, being a good friend for once." Taiyang joked. "It's almost honorable."

"Shut up Tai." Qrow responded as he squirmed so that he could get out from between Taiyang and Summer. He just wanted to get up for a minute so that he could get something to drink. A glass of soda or something.

He set his phone down on the coffee table and slipped into the kitchen. He was pretty sure that nothing was going to happen while he was out of the room, and so Qrow actually felt comfortable enough letting himself leave his phone out for now.

The kids had already gone to bed for the night, so Qrow didn't feel that he had much to worry about from them either. It was a small comfort.

Qrow scratched at his chest as he removed an empty glass from one of the kitchen cabinets. He set it down on the counter next to the fridge before he reached in to find something that he could drink without getting people angry at him.

That meant that beer and Ruby's chocolate milk were very much off the table as options.

He was about to pour the soda into his glass when he heard the sound of his phone vibrating in the other room.

Qrow missed the glass mid-pour and froze when the cold drink splashed onto his hand.

There was an almost infinite amount of ways that things could have gone wrong now, and that was all that Qrow could think about.

His hands trembled slightly as he set the bottle down on the counter in front of him feeling completely afraid of what would happen should he fail to calm down. His phone was there in the kitchen and it was almost assuredly displaying a message from Raven for the entire world to see.

Taiyang and Summer were going to see.

He didn't remember how he'd left his phone sitting on that table. His friends could almost for sure see who the message that had just come in from this was very bad.

Qrow couldn't breathe. He could barely calm his head down enough to start feeling like he was going to be alright to go out and talk to Summer and Taiyang again. He needed to do something to clean up the soda that was on the counter because of his spill, he needed to breathe again, he needed for his heart to calm down enough that he didn't feel he was on the verge of a heart attack.

He slumped against the counter and sucked in a tortured breath.

Qrow felt like he was going to cry despite the fact that nothing was happening quite yet.

He needed to do something to cover up what was happening.

Maybe if he knocked down the glass he could-

"Qrow?" A voice called from the living room. Summer's voice. "Is everything okay?"

He sucked in a deep breath and tried to collect himself and get his head in order enough that he could at the very least pretend that he wasn't falling apart at the seams. Qrow swallowed and looked down at the mess that he'd made in the kitchen.

Qrow needed a drink, and badly.

The soda that he'd tried to pour for himself wasn't going to cut it. He needed something that was about a thousand times stronger if he was going to be able to make it through the day. Especially if they had figured things out.

In the end he wasn't really able to answer them about what was happening. He just didn't have it in him to do so.

He choked as words caught in his throat. Nothing came out.

"Qrow?" Summer called to him again.

For the second call he still wasn't able to answer.

He was sure that he was going to crumble to the ground in a second.

Distantly he was able to make out the sound of footsteps on their way towards the kitchen. Qrow couldn't bring himself to relax, just braced himself against the edge of the counter and hung his head as he tried to learn how to breathe again.

"Qrow?" Summer's hand was on his shoulder, light but also impossibly heavy. He couldn't ignore the fact that she was there. He could get himself back so easily. "Qrow, what's-"

"Go." Qrow forced a word out. The word came up from his throat and almost left him feel like his vocal cords were tearing with how rough it was. It was cracked and hoarse and Qrow was fairly certain that he probably sounded like he was about to cry.

"Qrow?" Her grip tightened on him. She took a half-step back and called for Taiyang, who seemed to make a fast enough pace into the kitchen.

"Summer?" Taiyang asked, looking down at his wife and Qrow.

He couldn't do this though. Qrow pulled himself away from Summer and forced himself to take the first steps away from her, as uneasy as they were. With every inch Qrow felt like he was on the edge of collapse, but he couldn't stop because in that moment he was fairly certain that Summer had at least figured out what was happening.

"Qrow, please talk to us, what's-"

"Look." Qrow snapped at them, and he was sure that if they hadn't figured out what was happening they were probably figuring it out now. "I don't know what you two want but-"

Taiyang reached out for Qrow and pulled him in close to him so that Qrow couldn't get any further away from them. He squirmed against Taiyang's grip and that feeling like he was going to collapse got even worse.

"Qrow, are you drunk?" Taiyang asked, tightening his hold on Qrow around the chest. "Talk to us-"

"You know don't you?" Qrow snapped his eyes onto where Summer was standing. "You know."

"Know what?" Summer asked, her voice breaking and her eyes going all sad. "Qrow?"

"They-" He tried to force himself away from Taiyang. "You can't-" He squeezed his eyes shut. "Don't lie to me."

Taiyang looked a little bit like Qrow had just gone ahead and slapped him. He looked over at Summer with a panicked expression on his face. Summer realized what he was asking for and she stepped in close to Qrow to try and get him to talk to her.

Qrow didn't let himself look at her though. He couldn't bring himself to look her in the eyes when he was certain that she'd figured out who he had been talking to all day.

"Qrow, what are you talking about?" She asked him quietly. "You're scaring me."

"You-" Qrow felt his legs beginning to give out under him. He was sure that he would have collapsed to the floor if not for the fact that Taiyang was practically holding him up. "You know, and now you're going to-" He shook his head. They weren't going to kick him out. Qrow had to repeat that to himself a thousand times over as a mantra and it was never enough. "You saw and now-"

"Qrow wh-"

Qrow grit his teeth and did everything in his power to press Taiyang away from him just enough that he would be able to break the man's grip and get away from him.

When it happened he had to catch himself as best as he could, taking a few barely easy steps away from Taiyang in the process in the hopes that he wouldn't get grabbed again or stopped. Qrow's eyes fell on the door to the kitchen, and he began to walk for it in the hopes that he could get away from the house and away from Summer and Taiyang, even if it was only going to be for a little while.

But he had to get away before he said too much and threw everything into jeopardy.

He scrubbed his fingers through his hair far too hard as he walked, heading to the living room to grab his phone and picked it up. He could have gone ahead and called Raven, and just told her to come out to Vale so that he could-

"Qrow?" Summer called to him and half-jogged after him. "What is wrong with you, do you need us to do some-"

"Don't play dumb with me!" Qrow snapped at Summer before covering his face with his hands for a moment. He needed to breathe. "You saw."

"What?" Taiyang spoke up now and he couldn't have sounded like he was in any more disbelief over what was happening. Qrow couldn't calm himself down, though, and now that he was breaking down he was pretty sure there was going to be no avoiding talking about it. They were going to pick at him until he talked about what was going on. "Qrow, what are you talking bout?"

"Summer knows." Qrow dropped his hands and balled them into fists at his sides almost immediately. "She knows."

"Qrow..." She blinked and looked over at Taiyang before looking back over at Qrow. "I didn't look at your phone, what is all of this about?"

"RAVEN!" He finally gave up. His sister's name poured from his lips like a confession to an unwilling god. Or water from a broken dam. He couldn't keep it back anymore, he was too afraid. "My sister!" He sucked in a deep breath and shuddered through it the entire time, unable to get himself back into one piece as he needed to be. He covered his face with his hands again and tried not to let the tears that were building up in his eyes slip out.

He needed to get away from them.

"I'm..." He shook his head twice and he made a beeline for the front door. He couldn't stay there any longer.

Taiyang leaped into action, grabbing Qrow around the waist and pulling him back away from the door so that he couldn't escape. "Qrow, don't-"

"Tai, just let me go." Qrow mumbled quietly. It was all that he could manage. He couldn't do this. "Just let me..." He left out a broken sob. "I have to go."

"Qrow, don't do this," Summer stepped in again, her voice going all quiet. "Qrow, please, just talk to us about what's going on. We love you, don't you know that?"

The next breath that Qrow managed to let out was broken and akin to another sob. "Just let me..." He felt his legs about to give out again. "You don't want me anymore." Sob. "Raven... she..."

He began to crumble finally, dropping in Taiyang's grip down to the ground as everything that Qrow had finally gave out on him. The world around him felt impossibly far away, but Qrow couldn't quite get him back. Not so easily. Not when Raven was a part of the picture now.

"Qrow," Taiyang's voice went all quiet and soft. "Qrow, c'mon, get up. You want to talk?"

Qrow shook his head, unwilling to end up having to actually talk about the things that were going on with Raven mostly because he was afraid of what would happen if he did. Even if he didn't talk about it all at this point, Qrow was still going to feel afraid for what could come next.

Summer stepped in and she knelt down in front of Qrow to try and get him to pay attention to her instead of what was going on in his own head. "We didn't look at your phone," She got the word out barely above a whisper. "I promise. But you need to tell us what this is all about, you're scaring us."

"You have to promise me..." Qrow swallowed. "You won't do anything if I tell you."

The room went silent and Qrow finally felt himself beginning to feel like he could get his head back together. He wrapped his arms around himself in obvious discomfort as he waited. This was the part where things were all going to start falling apart. He needed to know that if he helped Raven anymore or talked to her anymore, he wasn't going to pay some sort of price.

He wasn't even thinking about what was going to probably end up happening once it made it to Raven that the gig was up. That was going to be a nightmare all its own.

Taiyang and Summer exchanged a look. It was Summer that spoke up. She stood up in front of Qrow and offered him a hand so that she could help him up to his feet so that he didn't have to stay on the ground as he was any longer.

"We promise, Qrow." She whispered. "C'mon, get up."

With a deep breath Qrow forced himself to reach out for Summer's hand. She helped him up to his feet and Qrow felt Taiyang wrap an arm around his shoulders as they steered him towards the bedroom so taht they could talk without the risk of them waking the girls up.

It was good that the kids were fast asleep and probably unaware to everything that was happening.

They reached the bedroom and Qrow was seated on the bed. He let his fingers stray over the soft fabric that was underneath where he was sitting at the moment, and tried not to break down again as the reality of something that he'd been hiding from having to face for a very long time began to crush down on him finally.

He couldn't bring himself to look Summer or Taiyang in the eyes.

Qrow climbed further up onto the bed and rested his back against the headboard so that he would have a little bit less to worry about.

Summer didn't move to cuddle in against him, and Taiyang just turned slightly so that they could make eye contact. Qrow just kept tracing the lines in the fabric beneath his fingertip as he tried to get his head together.

"Qrow?" Summer asked again, hoping that they were going to get something out of him.

He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment and finally forced himself to talk.

"I've been talking to..." He paused for a moment as he remembered the taboos that seemed to constantly surround his sister. "Well, her." He clenched the fabric under his right hand. "For... a few years now." Qrow swallowed visibly and couldn't bring himself to look up at his friends. It was perhaps the only safety that he had at the moment to keep him feeling alright.

But neither of them said anything to him, and so Qrow took that as the sign that he could keep on talking about what was going on without interruption. It was probably for the best if he just got everything that he could out of the way.

"I've been helping her. With her rent, her head when I can do something for her, anything that comes..." His mind strayed back to the duffel bag in the living room that held his things. There was still a gift for Yang waiting there from Raven, and he was going to have to face that sooner or later too. "Well, I've been helping her out with a lot of things." Pause. "When she wants to ask."

They still said nothing. Qrow pulled the loose parts of the blanket up around himself so that he could feel a little bit safer with all things considered. They still weren't talking to him about what was happening, they still weren't asking questions. One thing at a time, Qrow supposed.

"I tell her that she can come back but..." He shook his head. "Well, you can't make her do anything, you guys know that." Qrow burrowed into the blanket a little bit. "She asked me not to let you two know that we've been in contact and I kept that promise."

Qrow wiped his eyes on the blanket that was wrapped around his shoulders. "I couldn't break that promise to her." Pause. "I'm sorry." Still nothing. "Please just say something."

It may have been a few seconds. It may have been a minute.

It felt like an eternity.

But someone did eventually say something, and when they did, it was Taiyang in beyond hushed tones and sounding a little bit like his world was cracking apart around him all at once. Qrow felt bad about it all- for so long Taiyang had been allowed to live in what was akin to a state of ignorance to everything that was going on. His normal was being a happily married father to two and for so long Qrow was sure he'd been the only drawback that existed in Taiyang's life.

All at once Qrow had dropped some of the worst news Taiyang had probably ever heard on both Tai and Summer.

He felt bad for it. Beyond bad for it. He wanted to curl up and cry and apologize until the end of time and then he wanted to get up and go and do the same for Raven because it was all that he could think to do.

"Is..." Taiyang swallowed. "...How is she?"

That was a hard question to answer. Ever since Yang had been born Raven had never really been quite right, and she lived in a constant series of ups and downs that made saying whether she was doing well or not was next to impossible. Qrow had known the woman his entire life and he still had trouble figuring her out most of the time.

"She's..." Qrow looked away from his friends, needing that thin veneer of separation to give himself the feeling that this was possible to talk about. "She's... been worse." Pause. "I've seen her place, I know where she works, and I know that she's holding up okay for the most part." The fact that Raven had gotten arrested for getting into a fight didn't come up and Qrow was glad for it. "You guys know how Rae is, she has trouble." Pause. "I know it's not what you want to hear."

Summer spoke up now, sounding a bit broken herself as well. "Does she... ever ask about..." Pause. "You know."

"Yeah. Sometimes she does. I tell her what I can." Qrow balled his hands into fists as he started to feel a bit more relaxed with the situation, but that tension was still very real throughout the entire room and running through his entire body. "I think she misses you guys."

"So why doesn't she come back?" Taiyang asked, his blue eyes looking a little too hopeful for Taiyang's own good. "We would take her back-"

"Would you?" Qrow asked. "There's a reason that I haven't told you two that I've been talking to her and its because we didn't know what was going to happen when the truth finally came out. You guys should be throwing me out right-" He bit his lower lip and stopped a whimper along with it, curling further in on himself.

Recognition dawned on Summer's face and she nodded. She understood now why Qrow had made them promise that they weren't going to do anything. "Do you think she... wants to come back?"

That was probably the hardest question that Qrow was ever going to have to answer. "I don't know." He finally managed. "It's Raven. She needs to be able to sort her own stuff out before she can make a decision on whether she comes back or not."

Qrow swallowed. "I think she might want to come back, but she is damn afraid of what is going to happen if she tries to make that happen. I love you guys, but I'm not going to force Raven home for you." Pause. "She doesn't need that with everything else going on in her head."

"Right." Taiyang said, his voice a bit too tight. "Of course."

There was that silence again. It lingered through the entire room and crushed down on everyone that was in it. Qrow still felt like he wanted to run away, but he was tired. His eyes hurt and he mostly just wanted some time alone and a drink at this point. Summer and Taiyang probably understood that.

He had things that he wanted to say, he had things that he wanted to do.

But he couldn't yet. Not without being able to balance this on two fronts instead of having the situation with Raven be an unknown. For now it didn't look like he was going to get thrown out or dejected for daring to be in contact with his sister.

He just wanted to rest.

Summer rested her hand on Qrow's knee, impossibly light and gentle. It didn't feel like it had any weight to it, and on some level it did actually manage to feel like a small comfort to Qrow. He let his eyes slip shut for a second and tried to collect himself. It wasn't as though he could ignore the beating of his heart in his chest, or the way that this throat and lungs hurt.

But he could take comfort.

"Are you going to be okay?" Summer asked him him quietly. "I... can't imagine what this has been doing to you."

He let out a sigh that was so heavy it probably could have described how his entire life had gone. It spoke of weariness and frustration, and when the end finally came through, he managed to speak up. "No." He mumbled. "I kind of just want a drink and to be able to sleep for a while."

Summer nodded and stood up before slipping out of the room. She left Taiyang and Qrow alone, and Qrow took the chance now that he was alone and he turned away from his friend. He curled as deep down into the blanket that he'd wrapped around him as he could because it meant some sort of temporary relief as he laid there in bed.

Qrow was so, so tired.

Tai set a hand on his shoulder, much heavier. Qrow didn't ask him to, but his friend began to rub gentle circles into Qrow's back and shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. Once before, Qrow had gone ahead and done the same for Taiyang when Raven had first run. He'd needed it then, and now Qrow needed the same.

And in the end, he was glad that Taiyang was there for him to act as a comforter.

His eyes slipped shut, and Qrow knew that he sniffled audibly. Taiyang didn't stop. Qrow was glad for it. Eventually Summer came back and she offered him something to drink, and Qrow was glad for it. It wasn't alcoholic as he would have preferred, but he couldn't mind the fact that he'd been brought water.

It was Summer doing her best.

At some point, he managed to drift off to sleep, mostly because of his previous exhaustion.. He was going to have to deal with everything later on, but for now he just needed to sleep and to rest and deal with everything that was going on.

He was just so afraid of everything that would come.

When it was time for Summer and Tai to go to bed, they didn't bother to wake him up and let him stay there with them.


	47. Corner Piece

It was early in the morning- probably close to two in the morning, to be exact. James was finally starting to feel tired after hours of meeting with Ozpin. There hadn't been any sign that Penny was waking up over the course of the night- something that James was beyond grateful for. As far as James knew, Penny was sleeping soundly up in her room. That meant that he and Ozpin were left alone to talk and figure out details for the upcoming job.

Sure, Ozpin wanted James to help with another job, but James didn't quite know how he felt about that. There were a lot of factors at play that James had been trying _very_ hard not to think about too much over the course of the last year. Most prominently was the fact that he had a typical codename that they would use, and they used to use it with him for a _reason_.

He was the General. He was the one that used to organize and command. He was the one that would be able to figure out the best places that they could go and he was the one who used to make sure that everyone played a role that they were well suited for.

And now Ozpin wanted for James to lead again, when James thought that such a role was long behind him.

James couldn't trust himself with that sort of duty. Not anymore. Not after everything that had happened and with so much on the line. He couldn't confidently lead when the possibility that people could die was so much more _real_ now. It wasn't a possibility or a theoretical anymore- it strayed closer to reality these days. James was afraid of a thousand things that could have gone ahead and happened.

What happened if he gave a bad order and ended up hurting one of his friends in the process? Or getting one killed?

What if they got caught?

What if he just couldn't handle that sort of stress anymore?

Ozpin's votes of confidence only did so much for James. They didn't make him feel better about things at the end of the day. They ultimately just felt empty. Maybe if those encouragements didn't feel empty James would have been more willing to say yes to helping Ozpin again as a leader.

Before he'd never had direct contact with Ozpin, but he'd been the organizer.

Now James had Ozpin sitting in his office, and there was actually the chance to make plans with Ozpin directly. There was a small part of him that wondered whether or not Glynda knew that Ozpin wanted to do this or not. Usually when it came to Ozpin, she was the one that knew everything.

But now, James wasn't sure.

"James." Ozpin said, their voice somewhat quiet. "You've been quiet." It was a case of pointing out the obvious, but it was Ozpin giving James a chance to realize that he was slipping away from their meeting in some ways. Mentally, James was sure he'd begun to wander quite a bit.

"I'm sorry." James mumbled. "It's just a lot to take in."

"Of course."

Ozpin's answer was short. Too short. So short that it was enough to make James feel a little bit more uncomfortable with everything that was going on. It was the sort of answer that just strayed along the edge of being noncommittal. It served as a reminder of sorts that perhaps Ozpin wasn't the best person to confide in.

James couldn't help but wonder whether or not Ozpin actually cared about their employees or not.

With everything that had happened lately, the answer to that question was mostly a resounding 'no.' Someone that cared about others wouldn't break into a home because someone wasn't picking up the phone. Someone that cared about others wouldn't play everything like a game of chess behind the scenes and leave the people working for them to figure everything out on their own with little actual direction.

James shifted and got up from his seat. He walked around the side of the desk to find an old notebook that he probably hadn't managed to completely fill up with notes. Ozpin watched him the entire time, and when James finally sat down and grabbed a pen, that was the sign that they had work to do.

"So." James said, quietly. "You've come to me asking for me to lead another mission, but you haven't given me a word about what I need to do for you." James blinked. "If you could offer me anything to work with in the meantime, it would make quite the difference to me."

Ozpin nodded. "The last job before your..." Their voice trailed off for a little bit as they tried to figure out what they wanted to do, or rather what they wanted to say. James felt a certain sort of ache in his right arm that reminded him that Ozpin knew everything about what had happened on that job. Ozpin was dancing around how they wanted to address it and there was a small part of James that actually felt angry for it.

He wished that people wouldn't try to hide the fact that it was a thing that happened. Especially when it came to people like himself, and Junior, and Roman who he had a feeling knew much much more than he let on.

There were gaps in his memory that James worried about. Things that he probably said that he couldn't remember.

Mostly he remembered the gunshot and the car going out of control. After that, burning.

Unconsciously his hands balled into fists and he leaned forward in his seat. James' jaw clenched and he closed his eyes for a moment. He needed to think for a moment and calm himself down. Slowly he took in a deep breath and when James opened his eyes he stope up. "Crash." He finished Ozpin's sentence. "We should... call it what it was."

James wasn't sure that crash was the right word for what had happened either, but it may have been the best thing that he could have used to explain everything. There had to be something better and he just plain didn't know what it was properly.

"Right." Ozpin answered. They were quiet, watching James and then when they spoke up their voice was too calm but also quiet. Ozpin was trying to find their way to deal with this. "James, may I ask you something?"

"I get the feeling that if I said no you wouldn't care." James answered with an absolutely deadpan tone. He knew that it was probably a little bit off putting for Ozpin to hear, but James was also at a point where he felt like he was mostly beyond caring about Ozpin's feelings. Ozpin _had_ broken into his home, after all.

"I do care." Ozpin replied. "It's why I want to ask." They sat with their hands folded under their chin, watching James the entire time. "I want to know what you actually remember from that night."

That was it. That was the question that James had been hoping that nobody would try to ask him at any point. Usually people just assumed that he remembered everything, that he hadn't been dipping in and out of consciousness every minute or so once everything had gone to hell. That there was a lot of stuff that he wasn't fully convinced weren't dreams or nightmares.

James swallowed and shifted in his seat uncomfortably. He didn't know where he was going to start, but this was surely going to be a hard conversation to have. It had to happen though. He hadn't allowed himself to talk to anyone about it.

Maybe it was time to get some sort of closure on it- if that was even possible.

"It's..." James shook his head and stared past Ozpin's shoulder and out the window that looked out into the backyard. "I remember the meetings beforehand." He started, quietly. "You wanted us to take down one of the bigger banks in Atlas. Something about..." He shook his head. "Something about the Salem Group if I recall correctly."

"That is correct." Ozpin mumbled, watching James a little too closely the entire while. "And?"

"We had the meetings... in here, actually." James said. "Roman sat where you are now. I was at..." James furrowed his brow and pointed at one of the bare walls. "There. I did my part there."

"And the night itself?"

That was the big question, James figured. He tried not to think about the fact that his heart was beginning to speed up in his chest a little more than he would have liked. One thing at a time. One thing at a time.

"Roman, Junior, and I had met here." James mumbled. He shook his head and pushed an unruly bunch of hair out of his face. "We had dinner and just talked before we went out. There were... cars at the warehouse." James paused, not sure whether he was right or not about what he was saying anymore. He was pretty sure that he imagined some of this. "There were a lot of cars."

"There were." Ozpin confirmed. "One for everyone involved."

James nodded mutely. "Right, one for..." Had Winter been there? James wracked his mind, he couldn't remember for the life of him whether Winter had been there or not. Maybe she hadn't been at the location itself but she'd been waiting at the warehouse? He didn't remember.

He leaned forward slightly in his seat and put his head in his hands. "Winter." He said, quietly. "I don't remember if she was there for the job or not."

Ozpin blinked. They didn't say anything, just sat there like they were expecting for James to work through the question himself. And there was a part of James that was glad for it, but it was kind of an uncomfortable thing for him nonetheless.

It was hard for him to think about this stuff, and there Ozpin was, forcing him into it.

Ozpin continued to say nothing, and so James decided that the best he could do was just continue talking. "I... wore a suit." He said quietly. "Played a businessman. Spare suitcase."

Blinked.

All at once things began to dawn on him. "Junior and Roman, they were the ones who..." Pause. "They robbed the place. We switched suitcases just out of the reach of cameras."

"James?"

"I was the diversion." He whispered, quietly. "I was the..."

James stared down at his hands, feeling at a complete loss for words as things began to piece together in his mind. He hadn't really let himself actually think about that job, and now that he was there actually talking about it he couldn't help but feel a little bit shaken by the whole thing. In a way, it almost felt like his world had gone upside down and helter skelter over the course of a few words.

He leaned forward slightly and just rested his head in his hands in the hopes that it would provide him some sort of comfort as he worked through things.

There was a certain sense that he was becoming less and aware of what was going on in the room with him. Ozpin was there and James knew that they probably weren't going to be leaving anytime soon, but he couldn't help but feel like there was something changing. Everything was changing and James could do _nothing_ to stop it.

Just like last time.

He sucked in a breath that was far more ragged than it should have been and almost jolted when he felt the light pressure of Ozpin's hand resting on his left shoulder. There was probably next to nothing that could have prepared James for that sort of motion from anyone, let alone Ozpin.

"James." Ozpin spoke again, their voice terrifyingly calm. "You don't have to go any further." They didn't remove their hand from James' shoulder, just let it linger there in the hopes that they could drag James back to reality that way.

"I don't-"

"You don't have to go any further." Ozpin reiterated, squeezing James' shoulder gently and even massaging it in slow, circular motions. "I pushed you too far, and I see that."

James lifted his right hand and let his fingertips touch against Ozpin's hand for a moment. He couldn't think of anything to say to them- not right now. Not when he felt almost sick the more that he thought about what was going on.

He could stop at any time if he wanted to, James just had to go ahead and allow himself to do that. That was all that he had to do.

They sat there in silence for a while, and James did his absolute best to collect himself and get things back under control.

Ozpin was waiting for him to be the one that broke the silence. Ozpin was waiting for him to take control back over the room and be the one to steer what happened once again. Ozpin was waiting for him to push them away.

That was perhaps the kindest thing that Ozpin had ever done for James.

"I'm sorry." James mumbled, pulling away from Ozpin finally after a long while. "I didn't mean to..." His voice trailed off as he became aware of what he was saying. Why was he apologizing to the person that had broken into his home that very same night? James sucked in a deep breath, but this time when he did so it was much more even. Unimpeded.

Ozpin pulled away, sensing that they didn't need to offer James that physical comfort anymore. "You have nothing to apologize for, James." They said quietly. "That mission was a success, you do know that, right?"

James paused.

He hadn't known that, actually.

Nobody had been willing to talk to him about it once he'd woken up.

James opened his mouth a little bit because there were things that he wanted to say but couldn't quite find the words for. There wasn't any way to explain that nobody had told him what had happened after it all.

Back when he'd first woken back up and had started talking to people again, James had been mostly too afraid to ask. Too afraid that it would bring up all of the bad feelings that he was never quite going to be able to get past.

"I..." His voice trailed off slightly, but James got it back. "I didn't know that, actually."

"James, do you know what you did that night?" Ozpin asked him, leaning in slightly so that their eyes could meet. "Because I don't think you realized how much you saved."

"I don't." James' voice cracked and came out as being barely above a whisper. "What do you know?" Pause. "And how do you know it?"

"Glynda told me, of course." Ozpin explained. "Apparently you told Roman to take a certain road while you drove to divert. WIthout your sacrifice, well..." Ozpin paused. "I don't think anyone would be here today."

James needed time to figure out what it was that Ozpin meant by that. Did they mean that his friends would be dead, or that they would have been dead? This was something that James really wanted to think about, but he couldn't find a way to justify it all.

He had been the diversion.

He'd almost died for them.

Was he some sort of twisted sacrifice to make sure that everyone else got by in one piece.

"Ozpin-"

"James, I mean it." Ozpin reiterated. "You may have saved your friends." Pause. "There was a cost, yes. A high one. But you saved them."

That left James feeling like he was stuck. He wanted to ask the question that was beginning to tear at him the more and more that he and Ozpin talked about the job where everything had gone wrong.

Ozpin was coming to him now wanting for him to follow up on that job. Ozpin wanted for him to lead again, and James just didn't know that he actually had it in him to do that anymore. There were things about the offer that were tempting, there were things that made it almost feel worthwhile. James could have gone ahead and taken it and seen it as a return to former glory.

But that was the problem.

James was long past his prime at this point. His body had been broken and rebroken, now to this point where he was still beyond repair, no matter how much of him had been put back together with prosthetics and science. He relied on painkillers to get him through the day and he was lucky to be able to afford that lifestyle. He couldn't sleep a lot of nights anymore for a whole host of reasons.

Nightmares.

Worry.

General anxieties.

Some nights now, it was Qrow.

James didn't have his strength about him anymore. He didn't have his head anymore. Not the way that he used to.

Every piece of logic told him that he needed to turn down Ozpin's offer. He needed to turn his back and walk away.

James didn't know why he didn't go ahead and turn his back. It was the prudent, smart thing for him to do. He needed to go ahead, turn around, and tell Ozpin in as unambiguous of a way that he could manage that he needed to stop with this lifestyle and go straight. He needed to get away from this before things could go any worse than they already were.

He inhaled deeply and tried to sort out his head. He needed to have a good answer for Ozpin, but he also needed to be able to say no.

But there was a part of James, deep deep down that told him that he wasn't going to turn around and say no. The benefit had been a failure on many levels, and if James was going to go ahead and retire, he was going to do it when he was on top. He was going to do it on a success.

"Ozpin," James decided that it was for the best if he finally just went ahead and asked Ozpin the question. "Why do you want me to do this for you? Why now, after everything that's happened?" His eyes narrowed slightly. "You seem to think that you know everything that's going on in the group, so why are you here?"

Ozpin blinked twice, peering up at James from behind their glasses. "Is there something that I need to know, James?" They paused. "Surely if you were thinking of leaving this behind you would have done it already." Another pause. "What are you waiting for?"

"I..." James squeezed his eyes shut for a second as he tried to find the best way that he wanted to answer Ozpin's question. In theory it was for the best if he tried to tell Ozpin what he was planning on doing. That he wanted to go straight and get out of things.

That he wasn't the only one who was thinking about it.

James' stomach churned when he thought about what had happened the last time that he and Qrow had been together alone at James' home.

Qrow had said 'we' when the two of them had talked about the possibility of leaving it all behind.

 _Why would he say we?_

"James?"

"I want to stop doing this." James mumbled. "I want to have the money to pay my bills, live comfortably, and I want to be able to get custody of my daughter so that I can have her live with me again. I want to be a father that she could be proud of instead of a criminal that has to pretend that I have some sort of legitimate job."

That was it. He'd walked into the topic head on and there wasn't going to be much of James turning around to talk about it in any other matters than he already had. The floodgates were open, and James had Ozpin's full interest at the moment.

"Ozpin, if you want me to keep doing these things, I need for you to make me a promise."

Ozpin didn't respond. They just stared at James like they were trying to just figure out what the best way to deal with James' wants was going to be. They blinked and hummed quietly before finally speaking up.

"James, what would make you feel as though you could do this job?"

James blinked. That was really the million dollar question, he supposed, and he was going to have to be able to give an answer. This was the one chance that he'd gotten offered where he could actually bargain.

In a way, this was going to be his chance to buy his freedom back from Ozpin.

"If I do this job for you and I work for you, I need your promise that you'll leave me and..." James paused. His eyes flicked over to the door as Penny came into his head. He needed to keep his daughter safe. "You'll leave me and my daughter alone."

"Is that all James?" Ozpin relaxed into their seat. "Because if those are your terms-"

"That's not all." James cut Ozpin off before they could finish. "I imagine you have friends in high places."

"I do."

"I want..." James paused, thinking over whether this was really the way that he wanted to go about getting what he wanted out of Ozpin. There were a lot of ways that this could go wrong, but he genuinely wanted to ask the question. "I want to get custody of my daughter back." Pause. "Can you help me with that if I do what you ask me to?"

Ozpin blinked and looked around James' desk. James felt himself go rigid when Ozpin picked up the photo of Penny that they'd been looking at earlier. "This is what you want?" They asked, eyes travelling over and tracing Penny's face. "To be left alone with your daughter who you would have full custody of?"

James swallowed. He knew that it was probably theoretically possible for him to get more out of Ozpin, but James also didn't want to end up pushing his luck with them.

"Yes." James finally answered. "In addition to my cut."

"Of course." Ozpin leaned back in their seat again, setting the photo of Penny down on the desk where it had been earlier again. "James, if you will lead this job and it prove successful, then I will gladly do everything in my power to get your daughter back."

It was probably a deal with the devil.

It was probably James' best chance at living the life that he wanted to live.

"I'll do it." James extended his hand to Ozpin, who took it in a strong shake.

"I am glad to have you back on board, General."

Their hands separated and Ozpin moved to stand up. James noticed for the first time that evening that Ozpin had brought their cane with them, and like the first time that the two of them had met in person, they didn't seem to rely on it at all.

"Ozpin?"

"I'll be going, James." Ozpin said, their eyes flickering over to the clock for a moment. James' gaze followed Ozpin's, and James realized that it was almost two in the morning. It was definitely for the better that Ozpin left.

"Of course." James said quietly. "So the meeting this Friday..."

"Go ahead and miss it." Ozpin answered quietly. "I'll be sure to arrange a follow up when you don't have your daughter with you." They opened the door to the office and began on their way out.

James followed after Ozpin, largely because he wanted some sort of confirmation as to how they had gotten there.

Neither of them said anything to each other on the entire walk out of James' home. They got outside and James quietly closed the door behind him to make sure that Penny wasn't going to end up overhearing the two of them talking.

"I'll speak to you soon, James." Ozpin said, turning around to face James in the driveway. "Do take care and enjoy your time with your daughter."

Ozpin left the driveway just like that, heading off to the green car that James had noticed on the way home.

James couldn't bring himself to go back inside for several minutes. He needed his space to be able to just collect his head, but when he was ready James went back inside and began on his way back up to his bedroom so that he could sleep.

He managed to settle into bed and when he couldn't sleep, James couldn't help but to look at his phone over and over again.

At around three in the morning, he gave in and made a phone call.


	48. Too Far For Comfort

Qrow tried to rest, curled up between his two friends in Taiyang and Summer's bed. The two of them had decided that they wanted to have a movie night in the bedroom, with the small tv set that they had against one of the walls having been connected to a laptop so that the three of them could watch a movie. Qrow had been invited along, and with all of the stress that was running through his entire existence, he'd accepted. It was a chance to help him relax.

It was late- close to two in the morning. None of them seemed to mind. Most of the time they didn't get to enjoy themselves late at night with the kids around, but Yang and Ruby had gone to bed already and were mostly oblivious to that day's goings on. That was something that Qrow was grateful for.

When his phone rang, Qrow couldn't help but to be slightly startled by it. He jolted upright, and looked over at the table where he'd set it so that it could charge.

"Tai, could you-"

Taiyang blinked sleepily and picked his head up to look at Qrow before reaching over to the table to grab Qrow's phone. He stared at it for a moment to read the caller ID before finally passing it over.

"It's your boyfriend." Taiyang announced before nonchalantly tossing the phone onto Qrow's stomach where it landed with a bounce.

Qrow froze a little bit as he took the phone and slipped out of the bed by crawling over Taiyang and not caring whether or not he ended up pressing his shin down into Taiyang's right knee on the way out.

He stepped out of the room so that he was out of their line of sight and closed the door behind him before picking up.

"Jim?" He began. "Everything okay?"

"Hey." James said, his voice sounding tired and a bit too soft. Maybe even a little bit scared, but James was toeing the line of being relaxed as a default state. "I've just had a more eventful night than I would have liked." James paused. Qrow swallowed, realizing how awkward this was. "I just needed to talk to someone."

Qrow could relate to that. He honestly felt bad for how well he was able to relate to that feeling. He was tired and upset too, and his day had definitely been much more interesting than he'd initially anticipated. In a way, hearing from James was an additional comfort that Qrow hadn't been looking forward to. He couldn't have imagine this happening.

Maybe the two of them really were getting closer.

Taiyang had called James his _boyfriend_.

Qrow didn't like how badly that stuck in the back of his mind.

"Me too." Qrow finally admitted to James, dropping his volume a little bit with the words. "I would have called but..." His eyes travelled to the door to Summer and Taiyang's bedroom before he went to the couch and took a seat there. He made himself comfortable. "I ended up getting dragged into stuff with Tai and Summer. Figured you wouldn't want to talk to me anyway."

There was a pause. "Qrow, can we..." James hesitated. "Can we talk?"

"Yeah." Qrow said, quietly. "What's going on, Jim?"

"Ozpin." James answered, one word. One name that somehow was able to carry almost infinite amounts of weight that Qrow couldn't quite shake. He tried not to swallow hard or let his stress show in his voice.

"What about Ozpin?" Qrow dropped his volume even further, worried that he was going to end up being overheard somehow. Even though the name was likely to mean absolutely nothing to Summer and Taiyang, Qrow didn't want to go ahead and risk things anyways.

He heard James sigh on the other end of the phone, and it was a sound so heavy that it spoke to years worth of stress, all brought on because of James' line of work. "They... were here."

"What do you mean-"

"They broke into my house, Qrow." James mumbled the words. "Penny and I had been out and when we got home she went to unlock the door. When I checked the house they were in my study."

That was weird. Before James' run in with Ozpin not that long before the last job, the group hadn't really had much contact with Ozpin at all, and now Ozpin was purposefully dropping in on James' life at any chance that they got. There was a part of Qrow that almost questioned whether or not Ozpin was _trying_ to throw them off this way.

Why would they take so much interest in James over everyone else?

"What... did they want something?"

"Yeah." James mumbled. "They did."

They both paused. Qrow wanted to ask whether he was going to be allowed to know what it was that Ozpin wanted since James was very obviously rather shaken by the day's events. The poor guy had gotten his home broken into and very obviously was in need of someone to talk to about it.

While Qrow was honored that he was the one that James had thought of to go to, he couldn't help but wonder if he was about to be asked to come and stay at James' home in Atlas to try and see whether or not it would make James feel a little safer there. He'd been asked there when the house had gotten too quiet and lonely for James' liking before, so what would be different about this?

"Are you allowed to talk about it?" Qrow asked, keeping his voice down as low as he could keep it. He wasn't going to risk anything. They didn't need to know what he did for work on a good day.

Considering everything else that had happened that day, Qrow couldn't help but be sure that he would get thrown out if they found out about Ozpin and what Qrow called his career.

"Not really." James mumbled. "Definitely not over the phone." There was a moment of hesitation, and Qrow couldn't help but wonder what was going on in James' head at the moment. If he knew whether or not James was going to be okay, that would be one thing.

But somehow Qrow doubted that James was going to end up going ahead and telling him what he was feeling. James was probably just trying to keep up that veneer of strength that Qrow was sure that James was desperate to have right now. The man had his daughter with him, and there was no way that James was going to let Penny know that anything was wrong.

That just wasn't how James was.

"Qrow, if I…" James hesitated. "Do you remember what we talked about at my house the other night?"

It was a weird question, and Qrow needed a chance to wrack his mind to figure out what James could be talking about. They'd talked about a lot of things that night. They'd shared drinks and kissed and had fallen asleep on the couch together. Whatever it was that James was talking about, Qrow needed to think to figure it out.

"I dunno." Qrow mumbled before pausing for a moment. "We talked about…"

"Going straight." James cut him off. "Qrow, I've been given the chance to do that and I just…" James paused, his breathing audible. There wasn't a shred of doubt in Qrow's mind that James was just doing the thing where he needed to try and figure out what he wanted to say. This was how James worked through things, Qrow had since realized. "I have this chance now and I almost don't know what to do with it."

"Do you want to do it?" Qrow answered. "Because I don't think that anyone would really blame you for it if you did." He thought for a moment about everything that he knew. Everything that he'd been told, either by James or Junior, or even Roman. By all logic, James _should_ have been out of the game over a year before.

There wasn't a soul alive that would actually be mad at James for trying to leave now.

"I do." James answered. "I've been offered help with getting Penny back if I just…" Another pause, impossibly heavy. "I have to help Ozpin with something, and then they'll help me with Penny and they'll leave us alone after that."

"Oh." Qrow mumbled. For just a moment he couldn't quite find the words for what he wanted to say to James. Logically, the best thing that he could do was just offer his support, but there was some small part of Qrow that almost felt sad at this news. It was the revelation that soon he was probably going to be losing contact with James altogether.

If James wanted to be left alone, it probably meant that he was cutting himself off from everyone in the group.

"Jim, what does this mean?" Qrow bit his lower lip. "Will I see you at the meeting this week?"

James hesitated, and Qrow could hear the man sigh quietly on the other end of the line.

FInally, James spoke up, but when he did every word felt too stunted. "No." He answered. "I won't be there, but whenever the next job begins getting set into motion, I should be present for that." There was another pause, and Qrow couldn't help the frown that split his features over what James had said. He'd been hoping that he would get to see James again soon, if only because James felt like he might be the only one left on the planet that wasn't _somehow_ angry at Qrow.

It occurred to Qrow how strange that was to think about. Usually it was James that was angry at him for some reason.

"Yeah, that makes sense." Qrow mumbled into the phone as he tried to make himself feel a little bit more comfortable where he was sitting. "Look, I should probably-"

To Qrow's surprise, James cut him off before he could even get a chance to finish what he was saying. That hadn't been something that Qrow had been expecting from James at all, and yet he was there now.

"Qrow, I know it's dumb but…" James let out a breath that almost sounded ragged. "Someone broke into my house tonight. Please just… don't hang up yet."

A part of Qrow wanted to march into Summer and Taiyang's room so that he could just tell his friends that he needed a ride out to Atlas as fast as they could manage, but he couldn't do that. As much as Qrow wanted to be able to go to James directly and help the man just feel safe for a bit, he knew that it wasn't the right thing to do.

James was clearly trying to do everything in his power to shield Penny from what had happened. Qrow couldn't blame him for a second. If someone had broken into the house while Ruby and Yang were there, he would have been a little bit more than upset about the whole thing too.

"Alright." Qrow said, speaking quietly so that he could continue talking to James about everything without getting noticed. "Are you going to be alright?"

"I don't know." James answered him just as quietly. Qrow figured that James was probably just afraid that he was going to end up waking Penny up and scaring her. "I'm mostly just wondering what happens when I bring Penny back home." James paused again. "I don't know how I'm going to be able to feel safe here again."

Qrow let out a quiet exhale and scrubbed his left hand over his face as he tried to think on whether there was something that he'd be able to say to James that could make the man feel better about what was going on. There probably wasn't anything, and it was entirely likely that there never was going to be anything. Maybe all that Qrow could do was drop in when things began to blow over a bit.

"Have you told anyone else about it?"

"No."

"Are you going to?"

There was the sound of fabric shifting around as James moved on the other end of the line, and that was enough to confirm to Qrow that he was in bed already, getting ready to sleep for the night. "I don't know that I should-" James cut himself off as he tried to collect his thoughts. "I don't want Junior and Roman feeling unsafe at home when they have their three daughters to worry about."

"Well," Qrow wracked his mind, trying to figure out if there was anyone out in Atlas that James would be able to talk to about this. There was Winter, but Qrow figured that James loved the girl too much to risk scaring her about anything that he was involved in. There was also Glynda, but something about her didn't feel like she would be the most supportive friend to James. But... "What about Glynda?"

Qrow tried not to let himself start feeling jealous about the thought of James going to Glynda. He didn't know what that feeling had arisen in him and left him worrying about James and Glynda was, he mostly just knew that the night of the job it had burned through him and left him feeling incredibly jealous about the whole thing.

It didn't matter that James and Glynda had obviously been playing along in roles, Qrow couldn't help that burning jealousy in him. He wanted to even tell James that he had felt jealousy towards Glynda over the job, but he couldn't do that.

He didn't like the risks that would be taken if that happened.

"Somehow I get the feeling that talking to Glynda about this wouldn't do much good." James mumbled, his voice dropping to dangerously low tones. It was so deep that Qrow wanted to wrap himself up in it, but there was something else about it. There was something about it that almost sounded angry or upset.

"But you could tell her?"

"She probably already knows about it." James said quietly. "And if she doesn't-" Quiet. "Well, I don't know that she would be very sympathetic on the whole thing."

"You gonna tell your ex-wife?" Qrow felt that jealousy building up in his chest again as he tried to figure out what he was feeling. He didn't like to think that he was jealous of anything, but he knew that he was and there wasn't going to be much getting out from under that.

That was probably what gave James the most pause. Qrow waited almost endlessly for James to say something, only to hear the sound of James shifting around in his bed as he tried to make himself feel comfortable. "I don't think I can." James said. "If she finds out, my chances of getting Penny they-"

"I got it." Qrow said. "When I'm up there again, if you want I can stay there with you." He knew that he was overstepping his bounds with this offer. There was no way that he wasn't about to mess things up terribly and make it difficult on them. James was probably going to read it as him trying to get too close again. Trying to worm his way into things and feelings that he didn't belong in.

"I..." James' voice trailed off slightly. "I think that I'd like that." Hesitation. "Please, don't feel like you have to-"

"I'm making the offer, Jim." Qrow cut James off and was glad to hear a soft breath that sounded like relief. He couldn't pretend that he was surprised by it, James was clearly under a lot of stress that wasn't going to be stopping anytime soon. It hadn't slowed down since the moment that Qrow had first met James, and Qrow was quite certain that stress stretched even further back than that.

"Right." James said, quietly. "I think it would help if you came, definitely."

Qrow looked up at the ceiling and then over at his duffel bag where it sat next to the couch. In theory all that he was going to have to do if he was going to stay with James for a few days was make sure that he had clean clothes before he went.

"Alright." He answered. "Look, I should go soon, but whenever you want me there just... say the word."

Qrow paused, another phrase dancing on his tongue that he couldn't quite bring himself to speak.

"Right." James mumbled, sounding tired. "I'll talk to you later, Qrow."

They both sat there. In the empty living room, Qrow felt a little bit like he couldn't quite separate himself from the quiet of the room. He wondered about James- whether he was there at his home drowning in deafening quiet as well.

"Yeah." Qrow mumbled, biting back that phrase. "Bye, Jim."

"Have a good night, Qrow."

That was it. James hung up and Qrow was left staring at his phone unsure of what he wanted to do next. There wasn't going to be any easy escaping this, and now he had an arrangement that meant he and James were going to be seeing each other in person fairly soon. James would let him know when it was time...

This was a dangerous train of thought, Qrow realized. He made himself stand up and brushed his clothes down slightly as he began on his way out of the living room so that he could rejoin Summer and Taiyang in hopes that they wouldn't ask too many questions about what was going on. If he needed to, he could just brush it off as James having something to talk about for work.

No reason to let Tai and Summer get all weird about the whole thing.

He paused just outside of the bedroom with his hand hovering over the doorknob and sucked in a deep breath to calm himself down before he slipped inside and climbed back into bed with his friends.

He ended up next to Taiyang, since Summer had decided to squish herself in against the blond's side in Qrow's absence.

Qrow couldn't blame her for it. He was mostly just glad when Taiyang and Summer re-welcomed him with open arms.

It was something to help him forget about what had happened that night that wasn't chemical, so Qrow would take it.


	49. Paycheck Politics

The end of the week crept up on Qrow. He hadn't worked up the courage to talk to Raven about their little secret being out just yet, and Taiyang had been willing enough to drive Qrow into Atlas City to make sure that he could get to work on time.

Qrow had a lot of worries about the upcoming meeting.

For one, James wasn't going to be there, and normally James would be the one making sure that he had a place to sleep and a way out of Roman and Junior's apartment at the end of the night. He knew he was probably going to end up staying with Junior and Roman for a bit, and then he was going to end up at James' once Penny had been dropped off.

That didn't make Qrow feel less awkward about everything. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was somehow intruding on Roman and Junior's lives.

But there was one thing that Qrow was certain of- there was something going on, and it seemed like the only one who knew about it was James, and James wasn't telling anyone. Whether or not Ozpin showed up for the meeting was going to matter, but Qrow was doubting their presence.

He felt weird considering the possibility that Ozpin would show up for something as simple as a payout. Ozpin never made an appearance for this sort of thing.

Taiyang pulled up in front of Roman and Junior's apartment, and Qrow gave him a quick goodbye before he headed into the building in hopes that he'd be on time for this meeting.

He _really_ needed to see about getting his license back.

Getting into the building was no problem, and Qrow wound his way up to the apartment without any real trouble. He didn't run into Glynda or Winter on the way up, and there hadn't been any sign of Roman.

It just left Qrow worrying that he was running late.

He reached the door to room 311 and knocked. It sounded like someone was in there, and a moment's waiting left Junior opening the door for him.

"Qrow." Junior said quietly. "You made it."

"Yeah." Qrow answered as he stepped inside and shrugged out of his jacket. "Anything interesting going on?"

"Not yet." Junior said, closing the door behind Qrow. "Roman was in the living room with the girls."

Qrow nodded and began on the way into the living room to see that Glynda and Winter were talking to Roman about something. They both looked up to watch Qrow as he stepped in to take a seat in the room.

"Qrow." Glynda greeted him, giving him a look that left Qrow mostly feel like he was being judged by the blonde. "You're here alone?"

The first thing that Qrow had to wonder about was whether or not this was people reading into him and James' tendency to stick together these days. Perhaps Glynda was just hoping that she was going to get to speak to James. Qrow had to force back that surge of jealousy that built up in his chest again at the thought.

"I am." Qrow said, flopping down into the recliner that he liked to take. "Jimmy said he wasn't going to be able to make it for tonight."

Glynda had a look of disbelief on her face, and Qrow took that as encouragement. It meant that James hadn't talked to the woman about his little run in with Ozpin at the beginning of the week. A quick look at Winter told him that she hadn't been told anything either.

"He's not-"

There was another knock at the door, and everyone in the room nearly froze at the realization that if James wasn't coming to the meeting, there was only one person that it could be at the door.

Everyone looked at Roman, who was in the middle of sipping his drink. The redhead nodded and pushed himself up onto his feet before making his way to the front door to invite whoever it was at the door in.

Either Qrow had bad information, or Ozpin had decided that they were showing up for a meeting in person.

Qrow supposed that meant that they were all in for an earful over how the last job had gone, in that case. It had gone poorly, and Qrow was certain that James had already heard from Ozpin about that issue in person.

"Ozpin!" Roman said their boss' name lightheartedly as he opened the door. "We were not expecting you."

"I suppose you weren't." Ozpin answered as they stepped into the apartment with Roman. "Has everyone arrived?"

"James isn't here." Roman answered. "But we hear that he wasn't coming anyways."

Ozpin raised an eyebrow in some sort of disbelief over what they had just been told. It almost seemed like they were actually surprised by the most recent revelation that someone had found out about the fact that James wasn't going to be there. For a moment Qrow felt his heart nearly drop into his stomach at the realization that it was entirely possible that he had gotten James into trouble somehow just because he happened to know that James wasn't going to be there.

Had James not been allowed to tell anyone _anything_?

Qrow didn't know what to make of things now that he had heard about this. It was possible that James had specifically broken some sort of protocol while looking to find comfort in him.

It was possible that it all meant something, but Qrow didn't want to be the one reading into it too deeply and making things worse and worse for them.

But it was all depending on what Ozpin had to say or do with everything. They just hummed in response to what Roman had said, and when they spoke there was a slight crinkle around their eyes that Qrow couldn't quite identify as being either a good or a bad thing.

"I see." They said quietly. "Very well then."

With that, Ozpin continued deeper into the apartment so that they could get the meeting that they wanted to have that day underway. Roman swallowed and followed after Ozpin, and when he seated himself on one of the chairs at the side of the room it was perhaps the most awkward thing that Qrow had ever seen in all of the meetings that he'd been able to see.

Roman had been a ringleader in things for as long as Qrow had been involved. Seeing Roman doing anything other than standing at the front and handling things from there was just foreign. Almost alien, even.

Qrow took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. He wondered whether it would be too much to text James throughout the meeting to let his friend know what was going on as it happened. If something important happened, then James was going to want to know about it.

But maybe that wasn't the best option for a few reasons. Perhaps it would be best to call James in person once the meeting was over so that he could speak to James directly.

But as things stood, James was probably too busy looking after Penny to be able to do much of anything else, and James definitely wouldn't be a fan of any sort of phone call if he happened before Penny went to bed.

At the front of the room, Ozpin stood. Their eyes were tracing over each member of the group as they looked for something in each and every one of them that could be considered useful to them when the next job came up.

Qrow watched as Ozpin reached into their pocket to remove a stack of envelopes.

"I suppose that I should start with congratulating you all on a job that was... _mostly_ well done." Ozpin's gaze traced over towards Junior for a second, and it had to have been the first time that he'd ever seen Junior physically seem to shrink back over anything even slightly. They all knew that it was a pointed comment heading in Junior's direction- it seemed that Junior knew that best of all.

Ozpin took two steps forward, leaning slightly on their cane. Qrow let his eyes linger on the cane for a moment, remembering what James had said about it. Ozpin had a cane but they didn't seem to need it. James had thought that it was strange before, but now that Qrow was seeing Ozpin use the cane in action, it was different.

They dropped a stack of envelopes onto the table so that everyone could reach out and get their own reward once it was over.

Qrow waited, the exact same that everyone else had. Nobody wanted to be the first to get their money because they always looked a little too eager for pay as soon as it was presented to them. It tended to look bad.

There were things that he wanted to say, largely in Junior's defense. Nobody had told him much about what had happened in that room with the safe, but whatever had happened it had gotten _intense_. Now that Junior was actively shrinking back from Ozpin in some ways, Qrow couldn't help but want to step up and speak for Junior. He could help Junior.

He couldn't hold it back anymore.

"We got the job done cleanly, Ozpin." Qrow said, leaning back in his seat and resting one of his wrists on his knee. "And nobody's been figuring us out." Qrow paused. "So what's the big deal?"

"The big deal is that it was _sloppy_." Ozpin responded, keeping their voice as level as possible as they turned away and began to walk back over to the place at the front of the room that had originally been theirs when the meeting had began. "And that if it wasn't for the abilities of the whole there is no doubt that all of you would be rotting in jail right now as you await trial."

The room went completely silent at that. They had all gone into the last job aware of the high stakes, but nobody had ever really gone ahead and addressed them as such.

To hear things addressed with such high stakes so plainly was sobering. Qrow couldn't help but feel a little bit unsure about the whole thing. This was Ozpin declaring their dominance over the room, but that didn't make Qrow feel any less afraid.

So they all were on the fast track to prison if it hadn't been for the fact that something had happened to make the safe get cracked when it had been.

"Okay," Qrow narrowed his eyes slightly and thought hard about what he actually wanted to say. He could have gone ahead and said some things, or brought up some of the thousands of questions that were rushing through his head as he sat there with everyone else. He could bring up the possibility of a job after this one but...

He didn't know that he should. Going ahead and doing that would only serve to get James into a tricky situation that wasn't going to be easily dealt with in the long run. If he put Ozpin onto James' tail for spilling secrets, Qrow didn't think that he could forgive himself for that. James was making an honest effort to get out of this.

He couldn't jeopardize that.

It was Roman that spoke up next.

"So the job didn't go as cleanly as planned." Roman said, leaning in towards Ozpin slightly. "But it's too late to go back and fix it."

"It is." Ozpin responded, turning and letting their eyes flicker between Roman and Glynda. "Which is why I'll be removing you from the command on the next assignment that I have planned for you."

The entire room went deathly silent. Roman and Glynda looked between each other, both seeming a bit surprised.

"Wait." Junior spoke up now. "If you're removing Roman from planning, then who do you have taking his place?" The giant was visibly worried, Qrow realized. His brow was furrowed and his jaw was tight, and a quick glance down at his hands told Qrow that they were balled into fists.

Junior was about ready to fight.

Winter also didn't look too pleased with the news.

"I'll have you all know that the leadership on this mission that I am planning for you is between myself and someone that you all have placed some trust in." Ozpin responded, their voice entirely too cool. They looked between the various members of the group, like they were weighing the pros and cons of having each one of them still there and attached to everything that went on there.

"Who?" Winter spoke up. "Because the only other person-"

Realization dawned on Junior's face first. He was frozen shock still, and Roman looked over him and seemed to be quick to realize what had just been said as well. The two of them exchanged a look, and both of their faces read with no emotion but worry.

Qrow looked over at Glynda, who also looked worried, but also somewhat disappointed by the most recent news. It had seemed like Glynda was the one that had always been involved with the top level work from the very beginning, but things were changing.

Ozpin was there, and they were present. They weren't going to just let everything slip through their fingers when they had a chance to lead in person.

"I see that you've all figured it out." Ozpin said, smirking slightly through their words. "Unfortunately, the General wasn't able to join us for tonight's meeting and has requested that the next one happens at a time that is more convenient for him." Ozpin paused, scanning the room.

Qrow swallowed. James leading was apparently a _much_ bigger deal than he would have thought.

There was something that people were refusing to tell him. Something big.

Something that not even James was willing to touch on.

And Qrow couldn't shake the feeling that he knew what it was, deep down.

Roman spoke up now. "Has he agreed to this, or have you just-"

"I spoke to him in person and the two of us made an agreement." Ozpin replied, entirely too calmly. "He will aid in leading and arranging in the next mission, and I have made him promises in exchange that I do intend to keep."

"You're forgetting something." Junior spoke up, his voice filled with a growl. "The last mission-"

"The last mission that James led ended with what we can only call a freak accident." Ozpin cut Junior off before the man could say anything else. "Judging everything based on that will only serve to doom us all."

The room went silent again, and when Qrow looked over at Roman he was almost certain that he was able to see something in the man that looked like a barely repressed rage that somehow managed to border along sadness. It made Qrow's heart ache, at least a little bit to see him like that, but there seemed to be an almost universal understanding amongst the people in the room that Ozpin was right about this- whatever had happened that night had been a freak accident.

It occurred to Qrow for a moment that he felt a little too closely attached to that story despite the fact that he'd never had direct involvement in the job itself. He'd only seen the aftermath of it, and even then he only saw momentary inklings of it when James was willing to let things show.

Glynda spoke up this time, her voice a little too level and her sounding almost scary. "So what you're saying is that you want for us to forget that it ever happened?"

Ozpin looked at Glynda directly and the room was quiet. It was like nobody knew what to think of this. Glynda had always been the one that had been the most on board with whatever Ozpin wanted to do. She'd never seemed to question them, and now that it was happening and she was there doing it, everything felt wrong. It was like the world was turning upside down and nobody knew how they were going to be able to get past that fact.

"I'm not asking for any of you to do that." Ozpin clarified, still talking entirely too calmly. "What I'm asking is that all of you are understanding as we go into this next mission." All at once, their tone went deadly serious. "Besides, this very well may be your last mission that you'll get to spend with the General. It would be a shame to waste it."

"What are you saying?" It was Junior this time, sounding a little too insistent and worried about what Ozpin had just said for his own good. "You're telling us that you want for us to try and deal with what happened there and you say _that_?" Junior stood up and actually moved to take a step towards Ozpin, one that was a little too aggressive. Qrow had the feeling that none of them minded it. "He almost died because of your-"

"Hei Xiong Junior." Ozpin spoke, using the man's full name for the first time because it was an almost assured way to make sure that Junior would back down slightly. "What are you trying to imply?"

"You're the one saying that it'll be the last time we get to see James." Roman spoke up. "And since you didn't have much of anything to do with us until you met James in person, I get the feeling that this isn't going to be the most understanding crowd for you."

Ozpin hummed and their eyes slid over to Qrow. It was enough to leave Qrow feeling a little bit like he needed to stop dead in his tracks as he was left trying to figure out exactly what he wanted to do and what he wanted to say. He wanted to make sure that whenever he got out of this, he was going to be able to talk to James and explain what had been said. While Qrow did know some of what had happened that day, he didn't want to go ahead speculating too heavily.

Something about the way that Ozpin had said what they did was just a little too much. It was a little too unsettling and Qrow couldn't blame anyone for having their doubts.

He didn't move from his seat. He was almost afraid to see what would happen if he tried to make the effort to do so. The table still had stacks of envelopes sitting on it and waiting for someone to go ahead and take their money, but still nobody had moved for it. Qrow wondered whether Ozpin was just waiting for someone to move and start to take the money. Maybe they wanted to know that everyone had gotten paid before they finally decided to get their things together so that they could leave.

Qrow didn't know.

He didn't want to be the one to accidentally start something when things were already off to a bad start.

He just wanted his friends looked after, mostly.

Ozpin hummed again. This time when they did so, Qrow couldn't help but think that that was a habit that was just entirely annoying. It was one thing that he was sure he was never going to be able to hear without getting the unmistakable urge to punch something. To try and distract himself from that thought, Qrow found himself spinning and twisting the rings on his right hand.

"I suppose you're right." Ozpin finally said, and it was almost impossible to figure out whether or not there was even the slightest touch of guilt in their voice as they spoke. Qrow doubted that they were feeling any guilt about things, but it was what it was. They gestured towards the coffee table in the center of the room. "But as things stand, James will be making the arrangements for the next meeting at a time which he considers reasonable. I recommend that all of you keep your eyes open and be sure to arrive on the date that he specifies when he contacts you."

Silence, once again. Always powerful. Never unbreakable.

"Hm." Ozpin hummed one last time. "Very well. I'll be seeing all of you soon, if what James and I discussed is correct." They picked up their cane slightly, not bothering to put any sort of weight on it at all as they took the first steps away from the room. "I do expect to see all of you there."

Their hazel eyes scanned over the room, settling on face after face.

"Very well." Ozpin said again, their voice painfully clear. "I'll take my leave."

With that, they left the apartment, and everyone else that had gathered there were left in silence to try and figure out what they wanted to do with the newest set of information that they'd been given to follow along.

Everyone picked up their money. Winter left first, then Glynda.

Roman and Junior invited Qrow to stay the night so that he would have someone to talk to about what was going on.

Qrow was glad for it.


	50. A Matter Of Trust

"So you're telling me..." Roman poked as the bowl of pasta that he had in front of him, pensive. The redhead paused, his brow slightly furrowed and his lips pursed as he leaned forward on the couch next to Junior. According to them, the girls were away with Junior's mother for the weekend on their request, which meant that the adults had plenty of room to talk and figure things out on their own. "...that Ozpin broke into James' house." His voice was tinged with a reasonable amount of disbelief.

"Yeah." Qrow confirmed, leaning back in the seat that he'd taken just slightly, poking at his own food. "Jim called me the other night and he sounded pretty..." Qrow paused, trying to find the right word to use. "We'll say distressed." He shook his head. "I don't think he feels safe there right now."

"Shit." Junior swore quietly and looked over at Roman. "Do you think-"

"They never have before." Roman answered. "I've always had contact with Ozpin because of Glynda and only _through_ her. They never came to me directly for anything." There was quiet as the three men in the apartment tried to figure out how they actually felt about these things. "It just makes me wonder what the sudden interest in James could be all about."

Qrow frowned, because he didn't really know why James would have come under such close scrutiny only recently either. What Qrow knew about things was just what James had been able to tell him, and Qrow was fairly certain that he was probably not supposed to be telling anyone the little that James had been able to tell him. But he couldn't just leave their friends feeling lost and confused. He needed to give what context it was.

He stared into the bowl of food that he'd been given. After everyone had left, Junior had gone ahead and made dinner for the three of them. It wasn't something that he had to do, but Junior had insisted on it. Qrow was always glad for a good meal, but now with everything that was going on it didn't quite make things better.

There were some things that weren't going to make him feel better just in general.

"I think I know what it is." Qrow admitted quietly, not wanting to say too much. "James has..." He paused. "James has told me a lot of things that I get the feeling he…. isn't really telling anyone else. He's..." Qrow's voice trailed off again as he tried to collect his mind with exactly what he wanted to say. "He wants to leave. I think Ozpin got a whiff of that somehow and has been trying to get involved. Maybe they don't want James going anywhere." Qrow took a moment to take a deep breath, hoping that he'd be able to relax slightly. It was a futile effort. "Either that or they don't trust him."

Qrow _knew_ that he was suggesting something that was probably a bit bold to even bring up as a possibility. He knew that it probably wasn't in his best interests for him to do that, but he also knew that Roman and Junior had never given him any reason to worry that they would say something that would get him or James into trouble. There was an inherent trust that had been built up between the four of them, and Qrow had never felt any doubt in that trust.

Junior and Roman exchanged a look, like they couldn't quite figure out what they wanted to say anymore. Qrow figured that made sense- a lot of stuff had changed in the last few days, and Qrow seriously doubted that James had said anything to either Roman or Junior about things. If he had, it probably hadn't been all that much. It was James, after all. The guy was terribly secretive even on a good day, and Qrow was sure that everyone had realized that.

And now the two of them were being brought into the loop, even if it wasn't with with best possible information available.

"So he's actually doing it." Roman mumbled, looking back down into the bowl of pasta that he had sitting in front of him. "I'm actually kind of surprised that he's going to do it."

Roman's words changed the atmosphere a little bit. It changed how things were going to go from then out- it meant that Roman knew about what James wanted. How much Roman knew was just the big question.

It was Junior who spoke up next, and he sounded a little bit confused by the whole thing as well. Like he had things that he wanted to ask about but couldn't quite find the words for it. "People don't just stick around in this sort of line of work." He mumbled. "You guys know what this means if he does actually manage to get out of this..." Junior swallowed and stared off into deep space, like there was something terrifying flitting through his mind and making it hard for him to actually talk about what was going on.

"Junior?"

"it's just..." Junior shook his head and set his food down on the table in front of them where it was out of the way. The man swallowed and leaned back into his seat, but the motion was entirely too stiff and even stilted. Qrow didn't want to read into it too much. It wasn't the same sort of stiffness that James moved with- there wasn't any pain here. Only awkwardness that seemed like it wasn't going to be letting up on Junior so easily. The bearded man shook his head again. "I'm afraid." He looked over at Roman.

"Junior-" Roman started but was quickly cut off.

"You remember what happened that night, Roman." Junior said quietly. "He went off on his own because he wanted to keep the attention away from the rest of us, and something... happened to make him crash like that."

All of the color seemed to drain out of Roman's face, and he too leaned forward and set his bowl of pasta down on the table so that he would have a little bit less to worry about. Qrow got the feeling all of a sudden that he was becoming privy to something that he never would have wanted to experience.

"Ozpin didn't tell us what the job would be." Roman mumbled, his voice far away. "What if-"

Qrow blinked and looked between the two men in hopes that he would be able to figure out what they were trying to say. This was too awkward, but he knew that he wasn't going to be able to get out of this conversation. He didn't have anywhere else in the city that he could go even if he wanted to.

There was Raven, but he was still in the process of avoiding her for no reason other than the fact that he was deeply concerned for what would happen once she figured out that he had let the little secret between the two of them out. If he could keep that as a thing that he was going to have to deal with on some other day when he didn't already feel like he was drowning, then he was going to.

Junior swallowed visibly. "If that's what Ozpin wanted, and James agreed to it, I suppose we have nothing that we can do but put our trust in them." He looked over at Qrow now and their eyes locked. "How much has James told you?"

Roman shifted and turned so that he could face Qrow more directly as well. The spotlight was on him, and Qrow knew that there wasn't going to be any getting away from that fact. This was just what his life was going to be like for a little bit. Not it was just a matter of Qrow figuring out which details were the best ones to give to Junior and Roman.

"If I tell you this stuff, you need to promise me that you aren't going to tell anyone." Qrow said, leaning forward and bracing himself with his elbows resting on his knees. "I don't want to accidentally put Jim in trouble when he's got..." He shook his head, trying to find the best word to use. "When he's got some stuff at stake if this goes wrong."

"You have my word." Junior spoke up first. "He's my friend. I have absolutely no reason to go ahead and rat him out for anything."

"I agree." Roman answered. "No reason to say anything that could get him into trouble with Ozpin, and I like the guy too much to want to ruin his life like this."

Qrow swallowed. It was the best answer that he was going to get out of the pair, and he didn't want to get too deep into these things if he wasn't sure of what he should say.

"Alright." He finally said. "You guys know that Ozpin kind of tracked him down the first time that they talked." Qrow swallowed nervously, and it didn't go down easily. "This time, Ozpin broke into his house. James has Penny right now, and he's had her for the last week. He's scared about what would happen to Penny if he does anything to disagree with or go against Ozpin."

The room went silent. Qrow couldn't help but feel a little too worried about things now. This was changing everything. He'd just ruined Roman and Junior's life.

Now, because of this revelation, Junior and Roman were probably never going to be able to feel completely safe in their home. The two of them had three kids that they needed to look after, and Qrow didn't want to be the one ruining all the safety that they felt they had. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh. "Look, I couldn't..." Qrow shook his head as he tried to figure out what he wanted to say. There was probably absolutely no good way that he was going to be able to justify telling Roman and Junior what he just did without coming off as an ass. "I couldn't not tell you that this is something they aren't below doing."

Roman swallowed and looked to Junior, who was already shifting and getting a quick look around their apartment in search of something that could be done to make the situation less difficult. Qrow figured that Junior was looking for an easy way to make sure that their apartment was secure when the two of them were away from home.

"So..." Roman began to speak, sounding entirely too unsure. This wasn't how Roman was supposed to sound, Qrow thought. It was all that he could think- Roman wasn't supposed to sound this broken down and unconfident. Junior wasn't supposed to seem so nervous. Especially not in their own home. "So what you're telling us is that James is working closely with Ozpin because..."

"Because Ozpin's offering him a way out." Qrow finished. "With the stipulation that once things are over, Ozpin leaves James and his kid alone." He grimaced slightly and crossed his arms over his chest. He knew that he was probably looking like he was as bitter as he felt at the moment, but Qrow was also at a point where he was pretty far beyond caring. He was the one making sure that there was transparency in regards to James' situation, since he was sure that James wasn't going to tell people anything unless he had to.

Qrow swallowed at the realization that he was definitely being held as an exception of sorts in James' eyes. He didn't quite know what he wanted to think or feel about all of that, but that was what was going on- James had come to him when things had gone wrong this time around. James had come to him last time too, though he hadn't gotten the message immediately. James had asked him to come over when the house felt too lonely...

That...

That had to mean something. There was no way that didn't mean something-

He could feel all of the color draining out of his face as he thought more and more about everything that was going on with James. He was going to go back to staying with James in a few days once Penny was back home with her mother.

He shook his head and tried to ignore the fact that Roman and Junior's eyes were locked on him. He wasn't going to get out of this, Qrow reminded himself. He couldn't call James, and he hadn't really talked to anyone else about what was going on-

The memory of a few nights before rushed to him. Taiyang had called James his boyfriend when he'd passed the phone over to Qrow.

Was that... That couldn't mean something, could it?

Was that how people really saw him and James?

Junior spoke up again, his voice lower than Qrow had ever heard it before. It was almost too low, and too deeply controlled. "So if James is going to lead this job and that's at stake..." Junior looked down at the table, his brow furrowed and his expression reading as being nothing but pure frustration. "We don't have any choice but to sign on with this, you two do realize that, right?"

"Yeah." Qrow mumbled. "I do."

Roman's expression sank, and it looked like the redhead was doing his best to hug himself and try to calm himself down as he sat there with Qrow and Junior. "Yeah." He finally said, quietly. "I'm just worried about what this job is going to be like if James is going to be the one leading it."

"Roman-" Junior reached over to wrap an arm around his lover. "What's-"

"You remember it too, Junior." Roman said, his tone incredibly bitter. "You remember what the last thing that he did with us was before-" He swallowed back the next words, and Qrow couldn't blame him for that for a second. He knew that whatever was going on in Roman's head, it was terrifying. "I can't do it again, Junior."

"I know, Roman." Junior said, quietly. "I know."

Roman looked over at Qrow. "Have you talked to James lately?"

Qrow sighed heavily. He didn't really have all that much that he wanted to talk about with these two at this point- especially when it came to the mess that was whatever was between him and James. Whether there even was something between the two of them was something that Qrow doubted at this point. There had been enough moments of weakness, and the kiss that the two of them had actually shared, but in the end it felt like there was so much missing.

He kept his gaze low, not really sure that he wanted to open himself up to the other two at the moment. He needed a little bit of separation from the topic at hand if he was going to talk about himself and James with any sort of real honesty.

"I've talked to him, but I've told you guys everything he told me." Qrow shrugged, trying to make it seem like there was nothing weird or wrong with the situation. "He didn't want to talk about this stuff too much over the phone."

"That's understandable." Junior grumbled, keeping his gaze down. "I figure that one of us should try to get in contact with him over the course of the next few days so that we know what's going on with him."

"But if we're going to be going to his house for a meeting anyways, why bother?" Roman asked, though he still sounded shaky. It was obvious that Roman was doing his absolute best to get his head back together. If he could get back to that cocky default that he liked to thrive in, then Roman would be fine. "I mean, this is James- the guy tends to be pretty..." Swallow. "He tends to do pretty well on his own, you know?"

For a moment, Qrow let his hand ball into a fist as he tried to collect himself just enough so that he could clarify something that he really didn't want to. "I'm going to be going to Jim's in a day or two." he explained, trying not to sound too bothered by the fact. "He asked me to... keep him company for a little bit."

"Qrow?" Roman's voice was too soft and far away. Qrow didn't like it. Roman had figured him out- Roman knew that there was something wrong that Qrow didn't really want to talk about. "Is something-"

"He's done it before." Qrow said, carding his fingers through his hair a little too roughly as he pushed it back out of his face. "I don't know what it means, but this isn't the first time that he's done it." He shook his head. "He's let me move off of the couch, so I'm willing to just take it and go and live in the guy's guest room."

"Qrow." Roman stared at him. "You know that's not what I'm asking."

Yeah, Qrow knew that. He knew that it wasn't what Roman wanted to ask him, but he also didn't want to go ahead and risk making things more confusing by talking about them. With regards to what was between him and James, it was probably for the best that nobody talked about it.

"Yeah." He mumbled, bitterly. "I know." It wasn't going to make things better. Nothing was going to make things better at this rate. "It's just a mess is all because it's..."

"James." Roman finished.

"Yeah." Qrow sighed. "James."

He stared at the bowl of food in front of him. there was a fairly big part of him that wanted for him to do nothing more than to eat and crash for the night. He didn't think that he was going to get a chance to talk to James that night, and qrow had accepted that fact.

It was just that he didn't want to talk about these things much anymore. This was an awkward topic of discussion and it seemed like Roman and Junior had both realized that.

Junior seemed to be the one that had picked up on it more clearly though. He looked over at Roman and patted his knee. "We should probably finish up with food and think about bed."

Roman sighed and reached out for his bowl- he knew that Junior was right and probably had also figured out what the double meaning in that request was.

"Right." Roman began to eat again. "Of course."

The three of them ate the rest of their meals in relative silence, and when Junior and Roman went to bed, Qrow was glad to finally have a bit of time alone so that he could actually think about what was happening.

It was all that he really wanted anymore. He just needed a chance to think and plan for what was going to happen when he finally went to talk to James about what was going on.

Somehow, nothing made him feel any better about things.


	51. The Anatomy of a Crisis

The drive back to Vale left James' heart aching with the knowledge of what was coming in the near future. Penny sat at his side, chattering on happily about school, but that wasn't enough to distract James from the fact that he was going to have to face his ex-wife. After that, he was probably going to end up seeing Qrow and the Xiao Long-Rose clan.

He wasn't sure he was actually ready for any of it. Especially considering everything that had happened.

But he needed the company, James reminded himself. He hadn't just asked for Qrow to come to his place for no reason- he'd needed someone that would be willing to stay there with him even with the threat of Ozpin breaking in looming over the two of them.

James didn't know if they were going to do that again, and he definitely didn't want to find out. He would have preferred to feel like he had some safety in his own home.

Qrow was going to be good for that- at least, that's what he hoped. James didn't really know much about how he felt about what was going on with him and Qrow anymore.

James just needed that little layer of safety to help him keep his head on straight. He needed someone to give that house the feeling that someone actually lived there, even if it was only going to be for a little bit.

James couldn't help but scold himself mentally for a moment at the realization that he was getting caught up in things that he definitely shouldn't have been thinking about. There was much more to this than just keeping his home safe. There was much more at stake, and that wasn't something that was going to go away or disappear anytime soon.

Somehow, he almost found himself thinking that the house and the break-in was just a distraction from what was truly at stake. He was going to have to be in contact with Ozpin a lot more than he had been in the past if he was going to be planning the job with them. There wasn't going to be room for him to act as uncomfortably as he felt most of the time. Once Ozpin was in the house with him to plan, all bets were off.

As James pulled up to a streetlight, he realized that in inviting Qrow to come and stay with him for the time being, he might have actually changed the dynamic. Even if Qrow wasn't going to be taking part in the planning stages on the job, Qrow was sure to be present. If he was even in the house, that changed what would happen between James and Ozpin.

James mostly just hoped that Ozpin wouldn't take Qrow's presence as some sort of transgression or a breach of trust. That wasn't something that James wanted to deal with.

This wasn't simple. This was never going to be simple.

For a second, he looked over at Penny, who was fidgeting with a game that he'd installed on his phone for her to play when they were together. She seemed happy enough. James was mostly just glad that she didn't know about what had been happening behind the scenes while she had been there at home with him.

She didn't deserve to feel afraid like he did. Penny'd never deserved any of the things that he'd accidentally put her through.

They were going to be getting to Laurel's house soon, James reminded himself. He was going to have to pull up in front of it, and watch until he knew Penny was inside and safe. He and Laurel would run through this the same way that they always did. He would wait out in the car, she would stand by the door to let him know that he'd carried out his part of the arrangement, and then he would leave once the door closed behind her.

It wasn't a good situation. It never had been a good situation. But it worked. Penny had a stable place to live and got to go to a good school, and she even got to have friends close to her that she could go over and see. As long as she was usually happy, James could convince himself to be alright with the arrangement.

Regardless of how lonely and unhappy it left him feeling. He wasn't the one that mattered in all of this.

At the end of the day, it was about Penny. It had always been about Penny.

James turned off of the highway onto the exit that was going to bring him into Vale. They were almost there- soon he was just going to have no choice but to drive down onto the road where Laurel lived.

He just wanted Penny happy.

"Father?" Penny spoke up, drawing James out of his own thoughts and over to her mentally. "When am I going to get to see you again?"

"In two weeks." James said, quietly. "Promise."

"Two weeks is a long time." Penny said, slumping back into her seat as she watched the buildings pass them by. "What if-"

"It's only 14 days." James said, reaching over to place a hand on her shoulder for just a second. He knew that when he did that, she was completely aware of the fact that the hand was a little bit heavier than it should have been. He gave her shoulder a slight squeeze- or rather, as slight as he could manage before pulling back away. "I know it isn't fun doing this, but we don't have much of a choice right now."

"Will I ever get to live with you again?" Penny looked over at him with those wide green eyes. "I miss living with you."

James inhaled deeply, not sure how much he actually wanted to go ahead and tell Penny about what he was up to. In theory, it would have been right to tell her that he wanted to try and get custody back, but at the same time, he couldn't quite justify it. If Laurel was going to find out that he was going to be taking her to court about this, then he needed to be sure that such news came from him directly.

His preference would be to avoid the courts altogether aside from making sure that their new agreement was known and enforced, but James seriously doubted that was going to be possible, at least based on how the divorce had gone.

"Do you want to live with me again?" James asked, keeping his voice down.

"I do." Penny said, quietly. "Besides, it isn't like I have a lot of friends in Vale..."

James frowned slightly. "What about Ruby and Yang?"

Penny looked out the window. "Wouldn't I get to see them because you're friends with their uncle Qrow anyways?" James heard the quiet sound of Penny putting his phone into sleep mode since Penny knew that they were getting close to home as well.

"You aren't wrong." James said, smiling softly. "I guess you would get to see those two plenty as long as me and Qrow are friends."

The girl nodded happily, and James couldn't help the way that his heart felt like it had actually jumped a bit in his chest at the motion. He had to get Penny back, James told himself.

He actually felt happy when he had her around.

"So will I get to come live with you again?" Penny asked as James took the street that was going to bring him over to the neighborhood where Laurel lived. "Because I want to!"

James sighed as he slowed the car down, keeping his eyes open for anyone that might have been outside or on the streets at the moment. "I'll see what I can do, how about that?"

"You mean it?"

"Yeah." James finally pulled up in front of the house and put his car into park, leaning back into his seat. "I mean it."

Penny looked out the window and she looked absolutely heartbroken for just a moment before she began to move around. She was very obviously getting ready to get out of the car and James decided that the best he could do was help her out.

He got out of the car and walked around to the trunk so that he could get Penny's things for her while she got out.

Penny met him at the back of the car and James was careful to pass everything off to her that she'd brought. "You have everything?" James asked quietly.

"I think I do." Penny smiled up at him before stepping in close and wrapping her arms around him in a hug. "I can't wait to see you again."

"I can't wait either, Penny." James said, quietly, hugging her back.

The door to the house opened, and out of the corner of his eye, James saw his ex-wife's red hair.

"I think that means it's time to go." James said quietly as he released Penny and took a step away from her. "Promise me you'll be good?"

"The best." Penny said, smiling up at him before turning and beginning on the way to the house. "I'll see you soon, right?"

"Fourteen days." James said, repeating his answer from the drive. "If you need anything, call me."

Penny nodded and looked forward to begin her walk to the house. James watched as she disappeared inside.

Then, just like it had been rehearsed a thousand times, Laurel nodded and stepped back inside before closing the door behind her.

Almost immediately, James felt his heart sink. He was never a fan of being cut off from his daughter like this, but he knew that at the end of the day it was what he had to call a necessary evil. He was going to see her again, it was just hard when he didn't get to wake up to his daughter and make her happy through whatever means he could.

James swallowed the lump in his throat and got into his car so that he could begin the drive over to the Xiao Long-Rose house so that he could retrieve Qrow before they made the drive back to Atlas.

That alone had James feeling more than just a little nervous about things. The last time that he and Qrow had been together things had been different, emotionally charged in ways that were a bit on the harder side to think about and process.

James had tried with everything in his power not to think about what had happened between the two of them while Penny was with him. It wasn't something that he wanted to think about. He didn't need something to make him feel confused in the ways that Qrow made him these days.

It almost made James miss the uneasy partnership that the two of them had shared early on.

But that was the problem.

He almost missed it.

There was something undeniable about the way that things were now that James did in fact enjoy. He liked having Qrow around, and he even felt like he could feel calm around the guy most of the time.

The first two times Qrow had kissed him, James had felt nothing but rage.

But last time wasn't like those first uneasy kisses.

Last time, it had almost felt right to kiss back and let himself fall into Qrow in that way. They'd even fallen asleep together on the couch...

James wished that he hadn't felt as comfortable as he had then. He wished that he hadn't ended up with a friendship that he couldn't quite define. That wasn't to say that James didn't like Qrow, it was just that he would have liked it if he could actually understand what was happening between them both.

There were a lot of things that he was having trouble grappling with these days. The fact that he actually wanted to be near Qrow most of the time was a part of it.

The fact that his heart felt like it would jump a bit when Qrow was around was another, and in a way, it was much more troubling.

That was the problem though, James found himself thinking for a moment. Every time that his heart felt like it jumped up in his chest or his gaze lingered on Qrow for a little too long, he couldn't help but worry about it. Those little things meant that what was happening between him and Qrow had some level of realness to it. It wasn't just a bunch of mistakes.

James actually liked having Qrow around. He liked the banter that the two of them would get into almost all the time, and the way that Qrow knew when to drop his usual demeanor and face a serious situation. That wasn't even to mention the fact that Qrow was legitimately good with kids. The way that Qrow acted with the girls around was fantastic.

It almost made James feel secure enough to consider having Qrow and Penny at the house at the same time. Not that it was going to be happening anytime soon. As soon as the next job was finished, James was sure that he and Qrow were probably going to be cutting themselves away from each other. Once he was out of that life, James was sure that there just wasn't going to be room for him to be close to any of them.

He was sure that he was going to miss all of them. He was going to miss Junior's comfortable quiet, and Roman's bad jokes. He was going to miss Glynda's willingness to call people out when they were messing up.

After everything was said and done, James sure that the only one he was going to still be in any sort of significant contact with was going to be WInter. He couldn't cut her off. She was probably going to be the one person that he allowed to still have some sort of presence in his life.

Not Qrow.

When James finally pulled up in front of the Xiao Long-Rose house to pick up Qrow he had to take a minute to let out a heavy exhale so that he could feel calm about seeing Qrow again, even if that was going to be the bare minimum. Qrow was going to come out to talk to him as soon as he knew that he was there.

It wasn't a long wait. James was in the middle of sending Qrow a text to let his friend know that he'd shown up when the front door to the house opened up and Qrow stepped outside with a bag slung over his shoulder and looking clean and comfortable. James watched as Qrow approached him, and considered for a moment whether or not he wanted for Qrow to drive them back to Atlas.

He decided against it.

Qrow climbed in and tossed his bag into the back seat and looked over at James.

"Hey.' He said, quietly. "Long time, no see."

James swallowed and forced a smile. It hadn't been that long, but it was no lie that the two of them had more or less fallen out of contact completely in the time that they'd been apart.

God, James hated himself for thinking about them in those terms. It felt too real and almost a little bit too romantic in terminology. Qrow and him weren't anything, James told himself. He didn't know whether or not he was going to be able to believe it or not.

"Yeah." James said, reaching over to the shift so that he could put the car into reverse before hesitating for a moment. "Do you have everything that you're going to need?"

"Yeah." Qrow answered. "Double checked before I left."

That was a small relief. James put the car into reverse, and then the two of them were on the way to the highway so that they could get back to Atlas. He was almost completely certain that Qrow could pick up on the fact that he was still feeling bit off at the moment, but he didn't want for the two of them to delve into the topic too much.

Qrow knew about what had happened with Ozpin, at least to some degree.

James didn't want to talk about it in the car since he was pretty sure that Ozpin had some sort of way of checking in on him without him wanting it.

"That's good." James said quietly. "Thank you for agree-"

"It's no problem, Jim." Qrow answered before James could even finish thanking Qrow for his help. "I wouldn't want you to be feeling…" His voice trailed off for a moment, like he was trying to find anything that he could say without getting into trouble. "It doesn't matter." Qrow finally finished before looking over at James to lock their eyes.

Somehow, those red eyes didn't leave James feeling uncomfortable and worried as they probably should have. They reminded him of monsters from movies, but there was something about them that was so gentle and comfortable that James couldn't quite pull himself away from them completely. He wanted to rest in them, almost.

But he didn't have time to think about that when he was already driving the two of them back to Atlas.

"It-"

Qrow shrugged slightly. "I just want to know that you're doing okay."

That was probably the million dollar question, James found himself thinking. He knew that there wasn't a way that he could actually answer it- lord knew that he hadn't exactly done so well at keeping his head together once Penny went to bed most nights. It was just the fear that his home was forever compromised getting into his head, James had to keep telling himself. He had nothing to worry about once he fulfilled his part of this next job. After that, if things went right, then Ozpin was going to leave him alone and that was going to be the end of things.

In theory. James wasn't sure how much he trusted Ozpin about this whole thing.

"I wish I could say." James said quietly. "It's been hard over the course of the last few days, just because of everything that's been going on lately." He pulled onto the highway with those words, knowing that it was mostly going to be a straight drive back to Atlas at this point. It was something that he could look forward to.

At his side, Qrow nodded pensively for a moment before he spoke up. "I think anyone would be worried sick with all of that going on, Jim." He shrugged. "Things haven't been that great at the house either, but having a chance to get away from all of that'll be nice."

That was odd, James thought. Why would Qrow have something going on?

"Are you okay?" James asked, deciding that the best thing he could do was try to offer Qrow what little comfort he could manage in the time being.

Qrow looked out the window, watching the trees as they passed them by like he was looking for something out there which could make him feel happier about his situation. "Yeah, I think so." Pause. "No, not really."

There was a silence that hung between the two of them. James didn't want to prompt Qrow into talking about anything that the guy didn't want to touch. He wanted to reach out and give Qrow some sort of comfort, no matter what it was, but James couldn't think of anything.

That silence hung between all of them, and eventually James spoke up.

"You know that you can stay with me as long as you-"

"What?" Qrow looked over at James directly now. "It's not like I'm going to be getting thrown out or anything." His voice seemed to dip, like he was carrying something impossibly heavy that he didn't want to talk to anyone about. "It's just that Tai and Summer know that I've been in contact with my sister is all."

James had to think back to remember whether or not he and Qrow had ever talked about Qrow's sister. They had, James remembered quickly. It had been an awkward conversation that had been largely built around Qrow trying to explain why his sister had been treated as a taboo. Summer and Taiyang knowing about Qrow's sister was definitely a big deal.

"Are things going to be okay?" James asked, knowing that he probably wasn't going to be able to slip out from under the atmosphere that was now settling over himself and Qrow. "Because I know-"

"Maybe." Qrow said with a shrug. "I mostly don't really want to be thinking about all of that right now." A slight shrug in his shoulders. It's a chance for you and I to spend some time together and not be thinking about how everything's going to hell." Qrow settled back into his seat again, turning away from James slightly and staring out the window. "Right?"

James was going to have to take some sort of comfort in all of this, he decided then. The best that he could do was just be as supportive of Qrow as Qrow needed. He reached over for the cupholder in his center console where he'd set his phone and removed his phone before passing it to Qrow.

"If you want, you can order us something to eat and we can pick it up on the way home." James said quietly. "I know that it's not much but-"

Qrow shot James a weird look, like he didn't quite know what he wanted to make of the situation. James swallowed, pulling his hand away when Qrow finally took it from him. It was like Qrow was trying to think of something to say to James, but couldn't quite find it.

"What?"

"It's weird." Qrow said, quietly. "You're just being really… nice." Pause. "It's just not really like you, Jim." There was another pause. "What's going on?"

James' eyes flicked over to Qrow for just a moment as he tried to figure out exactly what it was that Qrow was probably thinking about at that point. He didn't think that he was doing anything that was out of the ordinary, but now that Qrow mentioned it James couldn't help the nerves that began to arise as a result.

"Everything's fine." James said, swallowing and letting his left hand grip his steering wheel a little bit tighter than he had to. He was glad when he didn't hear it creak under the pressure in the same way that it would if he had been using his right hand. "I just..." He shook his head, unable to find the right words to explain what was going on at the moment. It wasn't simple. "I've just got a lot on my mind."

There was quiet, then in an impossibly small voice Qrow spoke up as well.

"Me too."

Neither of them said anything, mostly just content to rest and wait while James drove. There wasn't any doubt in James' mind about what was hanging over the two of them that they were both so afraid to voice. It was only too obvious.

The moments that they'd spent on his couch. Everything that had happened afterward. The phone call.

They couldn't keep doing this, James thought. He'd tried so many times before to just avoid getting wound up in what was going on between him and Qrow. So many times before, he had been willing to drop the subject and act like nothing had happened.

This time, he couldn't quite justify doing that anymore. He wanted to actually deal with things. Maybe that was the way to actually get some sort of closure about what was going on in his life.

"Qrow, look-" James began to speak, but paused when nothing came to mind for him to say. "I like having you around." He had a feeling that it was the first time that he'd ever actually said that to Qrow over the entire course of the time that they'd known each other. It was possible that he'd mentioned it before, but this time it was different.

"I know." Qrow said with a slight shrug. "...I'm sorry."

James didn't know how to respond. He couldn't quite think of anything that he could say. "I'm..." He shook his head, trying to distract himself away from what was already buzzing in his head. "It's weird."

"What's weird?"

He stared at the road ahead, focusing on the drive and trying not to let any sign that he was in some distress show. He didn't need Qrow starting to worry about that sort of thing. Not then, anyways. "I..." He paused, weighing his words carefully. "I don't think I'm mad."

"Jim?"

James shrugged. "I don't know, Qrow." he said quietly. "It was kind of... nice." He shook his head and ran his free hand through his hair to push it back out of his face. He swallowed. "I think we both might have needed it."

Qrow stared at him in some disbelief, and James couldn't quite get past that fact. He'd accidentally stunned Qrow silent, and now he didn't know what he wanted to do about it for a second. James didn't want to know how this was going to start changing things.

There was a limited clock, James had to remind himself. After this last job, he was probably going to be cutting contact with Qrow almost entirely. The one thing that he wasn't going to cut off was going to be the link that came from bringing Penny to see Ruby and Yang. If he and Qrow were going to see each other after that, it was going to be because James was either dropping Penny off for visits or picking her up.

He wasn't sure that he could justify any more than that.

The wait for Qrow to say anything to him felt like it stretched on forever. James couldn't help the nerves rising higher and higher. He had to grip the steering wheel a little tighter, and balled his right hand into a fist at his side as he tried to just get himself to relax, even if it was only going to be slightly.

"So..." Qrow began to speak up, keeping his volume low enough that James could only hear it over the quiet hum of the car's tires on the pavement below. "You're saying you liked it?"

Yet another million dollar question, James thought to himself. "I don't know what I feel, Qrow." Pause. "I'm not-"

James' eyes flicked back over to Qrow for a moment and he let out a sigh. "It's complicated."

"I don't see what's complicated." Qrow answered him. "You and I kissed, we both enjoyed it at the time." A shrug. "No harm done, right?"

"In theory." James mumbled, doing his best to ignore what was nagging at the back of his mind. He knew that he wasn't going to be able to do so for long. He had never been attracted to a man before, and yet with Qrow it felt almost natural for the two of them to be together. While it seemed that Qrow was a bit more in touch with what he wanted, James was mostly just unsure.

He'd been keeping that to himself for a while.

"Qrow, I need to figure this out."

"I don't know what there is to figure out," Qrow joked, shifting in his seat slightly so that he could face James directly. "We kissed and we both enjoyed it. So there was some alcohol involved." A pause. "Jim, what's the big deal?"

"I'm not used to…" James shook his head. "You're just different is all."

"Well.." Qrow swallowed hard, enough that James could see the bob of the man's Adam's Apple in his throat. "If you liked it, then what's the harm in just rolling with things." Qrow sighed heavily. "Look, I know that's probably not really your style, but getting caught up on things isn't going to help." Qrow paused. "Is it because I'm...well, a guy?"

James stared straight ahead. He couldn't bring himself to answer right away.

James sighed. That was the question that he'd been doing his best to dance around and avoid for a while, and now there wasn't going to be any avoiding it. The topic was on the table, and it had to be addressed. James didn't want to leave Qrow hanging on this sort of issue, especially when things were so hard between the two of them. Qrow didn't deserve that- nobody deserved that sort of treatment, really.

He gripped the steering wheel a little too hard and pulled into the parking lot of a small convenience store. He needed something to make sure that he could stay calm and avoid getting into trouble when they were on the road. He needed to keep his head straight.

"Qrow," James began, searching for his words the entire time. "You need to..." A pause. A deep breath. "Qrow, I just don't know what I'm supposed to think of these things." All at once James' voice went too quiet, and he could feel Qrow's gaze on him like it was burning through him. "This wasn't in the plan."

To his surprise, James felt a gentle pressure on his right shoulder, the result of Qrow deciding that it was a good place to put his hand in hopes that he could offer James some sort of small comfort in the time that they were together. He didn't say anything, and James was glad for that. It meant that he had a chance to just calm down and take comfort in Qrow's presence for a moment.

"Yeah." James finally managed to admit. "You're right. The fact that you're a man is a lot of the problem."

"There's..." Qrow paused. "There's nothing wrong with this, James." James heard Qrow suck in a deep breath of his own, like he was trying to find something to say himself. "I get it, okay? You're suddenly feeling things that you aren't used to and..." Shrug. "I'm sorry that you're going through this."

James looked over at Qrow and let their eyes lock. He couldn't think of anything that he could say to Qrow. There was probably nothing that was going to make him feel better about everything. There was nothing that was going to be able to help him relax other than getting home.

"I just..." James shook his head and stared out the window, watching as car after car passed by on the highway. "Qrow, I can't even figure out what I want to do anymore. I want to keep you around, I do, it's just-"

"You're having a sexuality crisis." Qrow tried to finish for him, but that wasn't what James had needed to hear.

"That's..." Exhale. "That's not all of it. There is that, but the fact remains that the two of us are probably going to be seeing for the last time once this job is done."

There it was. That was it. That was the biggest atom bomb that he could possibly put on the table between the two of them, but Qrow couldn't pretend like it wasn't an object. He didn't know whether or not that was something that Qrow had been considering, but James had to be honest about this.

"Jim?"

"I'm sorry." He whispered. "I know that it isn't..."

"James?" Qrow asked him again, trying to get his attention.

"Yeah?"

"What happens once you leave?" Qrow asked quietly. "You're never going to see anyone in the group, are you?"

James shrugged. "I was thinking that I might be able to see you if I bring Penny over to see Ruby and Yang but..." He shook his head. "It's not that good if the two of us are in too much contact."

Silence hanged over the two of them, and James couldn't quite bring himself to feel better about things.

"I'm sorry." Pause. "It's just too dangerous."

Qrow nodded, like he understood the specifics of the situation and didn't want to get too far into the middle of things. "I get it." He said finally. "But-"

James raised an eyebrow and met Qrow's eyes, watching as the thin man shifted and half-folded one of his legs under him so that he would be able to face James correctly. "James, I just want to know..." Pause. "What would it take to make you feel like it would be okay to keep on seeing me?"

"Qrow-"

"James, I'm telling you that I want to stay a part of your life. After everything, I want to stick by you, Jim." Qrow shrugged. "You and I we've... We blew up a gas station together. We're friends, right?"

"Yeah." James admitted, feeling something gripping his chest that made him feel like he was suffocating. "Do you really mean that?"

"Yeah." Qrow said, leaning back. "My life's going to shit too, I don't see why the two of us shouldn't go through all of the shit together."

James watched as Qrow reached out for him, offering him a hand.

"We don't have to define everything, Jim." Qrow said quietly. "I just want you to choose."

James swallowed.

He reached out and placed his right hand in Qrow's, and let that touch linger for as long as it had to.


	52. Impulse and Pressure

Qrow ended up driving himself and James the rest of the way back to Atlas, and as discussed, the two did actually stop to get takeout, the same way that they had several times in the past when they'd wanted something to eat. Qrow hadn't minded it- James seemed like he'd needed the chance to get out of the driver's seat, if only because it meant he'd be able to relax a little bit. Stress was stress, Qrow understood that perfectly well.

And oh, how James had a habit for falling apart under too much stress.

When they got back to James' home, there was much more of a mess there than Qrow was used to seeing. He figured it just meant that James hadn't bothered to clean up at all before leaving the house to bring Penny back to her mother's. Either way, it was strange to see James' space so disorganized.

"Just make yourself comfortable." James said as he unlocked the front door. Qrow watched James' body the entire time, searching for any sort of sign that could tell him how bad the nerves about James were at the moment. The fact that there was actually a pause at the door told him that the two of them had no unexpected visitors to worry about.

"I always do." Qrow answered with a shrug as he made a beeline for the kitchen. The least that he could do was make sure that they weren't running the risk of the food ending up all over the place or anything like that. "Anything you want to drink?"

"Just water would be good." James replied as he took his time by the front door, carefully slipping one of his shoes off of his right foot before replacing it with a slipper that would probably be enough to hide the uneven clunk of his right foot.

Qrow nodded, and looked over at James with a slightly amused smile. There had been a lot of catharsis found between the two of them during the car ride home, and Qrow was mostly glad for it. There were some things that he was worried about- like the fact that James was pretty obviously struggling with something that wasn't going to get out of his head anytime soon. But the talk had helped to clear the air, at least on some level.

He couldn't blame the guy. Everyone had stuff to deal with, himself included. Right now, he was mostly just glad because he was going to be able to relax, and he'd get to relax with James. There was even the possibility that they were going to talk about what was coming up on them for work. It wouldn't be the ideal conversation, but Qrow could deal with that.

It wasn't as though he didn't have things that he wanted to talk to James about while they were there too. He was going to have to go and talk to Raven at some point, and Qrow was hoping that James was going to be able to offer him a nice place to stay in the meantime. Not to mention some comfort when Qrow was beyond sure of the fact that he was going to end up needing afterwards.

If he knew for even a second what he had to look forward to, that would have been one thing.

"So," Qrow said, watching as James seated himself across from him at the counter. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." James said, his voice a bit too meek. He didn't sound like James. "Mostly just glad that I came home to a locked house."

Qrow nodded and reached into the first of the brown paper bags of food that they'd brought home in tow with them. He began to pull out carton after carton of food, setting them all down in front of James so that the other man could take his pick. "I get that." Qrow said, quietly. "How is ol' Oz doing these days anyways?" He stared into James' eyes.

"I haven't seen them since the night I called you." James replied, rather plainly. "Or heard from them, for that matter." James paused. "I suspect that you saw Ozpin at the latest meeting?"

"We did." Qrow confirmed with a shrug. He couldn't quite help the feelings of nervousness that began to arise when he thought about the latest contact with Ozpin that he'd had. The meeting hadn't gone anywhere _near_ as nicely as it could have, but Qrow couldn't pretend like he hadn't been expected for all of them to get torn into to some degree.

"How was the meeting?" James asked, keeping his voice down. "I suppose that Ozpin didn't give you much in the way as to what we have to look forward to when this next job comes up."

"Not a word, just a little bit of teasing." Qrow replied. He frowned and raised a hand to push his hair back out of his face a little bit too roughly. He couldn't help the slight wince that marked his face, but realized that the best he could do was just talk about everything. "Everyone's scared shitless about all of it, though." Qrow paused, thinking back to the conversations that he'd had with Junior and Roman.

There was a question lingering in the back of his mind that made him wonder whether or not there was a limit to how much he should tell James and how much he should omit. There were a lot of things that he was worried about.

"I expected that." James said as he opened up the first container of food and tilted it slightly to see what was inside. He slid it across the counter to Qrow. "Those are yours." There was a visible hesitation from James, though. "I've been having to deal with some things lately too, not just them." A pause. "It's hard."

"Anything you think I can help with?" Qrow took the container of food from James and set it down next to him. "I know that work can be..." He stared into James' eyes, and saw hurt swimming in those blue eyes of his. How he wanted to take that away, especially after after how things had gone earlier that day. "I know it can get stressful." He finished, biting back some bitterness. "Especially for you."

James sighed, far too heavily as he checked another carton of food. "I don't know." He admitted, all too quietly. "It's hard to think about."

Qrow walked around the counter so that he was somewhat close to James, and took the seat directly beside his friend. Even if what they were wasn't defined, the least that he could do was offer comfort. "You know I don't blame you for it."

"You-"

"I'm an alcoholic, Jim." Qrow admitted, frowning through the bitterness of his own words and the reality of them. "I can't judge anyone for getting caught up in their own head."

Their eyes met, and Qrow couldn't deny the fact that he was looking for something in James' gaze that he couldn't quite identify. Not so easily. He swallowed and tore his eyes away from James' before looking down at all of the food that the two of them had brought home with them. He didn't say anything, just helped James to sort through what they had before pausing.

James didn't say anything to him, just got up and walked around the counter so that he was going to be able to get down some plates and get some silverware that they could use. Qrow watched him the entire time, just taking his time to watch James' hands.

"Do you want to eat on the couch?" James said, keeping his voice low. "It'd be a bit more comfortable."

Qrow had to fight everything in him to keep himself from reading into James' question. While it was entirely possible that James was just looking to make himself more comfortable in ways that weren't going to end up putting a strain on his body, Qrow wondered whether or not there was a desire for closeness in it.

The drive had been slightly more emotional than either of them would have liked, and while Qrow definitely would have been glad to go ahead and curl in against someone else, he was pretty sure that James wasn't going to want the same.

Or maybe he would and didn't want to voice that.

It was hard to say.

Even now, James was the king of mixed messages.

"The couch sounds good," Qrow finally answered his friend with a slight shrug before he pushed himself up to his feet. He closed his eyes and smiled, before shifting so that he could get food onto his plate.

"I'll meet you there." James answered him quietly. Qrow figured it was just James wanting a minute of privacy. Qrow nodded and slipped out of the kitchen and into the living room. He made himself comfortable on the couch, which was still in a state of some disarray. There were some blankets and a pillow there, but probably not from the night that the two of them had spent there.

Qrow decided to seat himself against the left side of the couch so that he wasn't going to risk making James uncomfortable by just being that close to James' right side. Most days he still didn't know what was going on in the guy's head and he didn't want to end up making the guy any more uncomfortable than he already was.

He ended up waiting there for a minute, and when James came in he just seated himself at Qrow's side with his food quietly.

"Food's good." Qrow said, just hoping that he might be able to break through some of the awkwardness that had appeared between the two of them. James hummed a response, and Qrow watched as he began to gather a forkful of food.

"That's good." James said, just as quietly as before.

"Jim, look-"

"Qrow," James cut Qrow off. "I'm not mad or anything, I just think that I might need some time to figure some things out."

Qrow frowned slightly. He couldn't pretend like he hadn't been expecting that sort of answer from James at some point. He was just worried that the two of them were going back to their usual awkward iciness that normally dominated their interactions.

He set his plate down on the table that was in front of them and turned to face Qrow. "I get needing time." Qrow said, quietly. "I'm sorry that things are..." He swallowed, trying to get past the bitterness of the lie that was dancing on his tongue. He wasn't sorry. He wasn't sorry for any of it. He liked what was showing up entered the two of them, regardless of how uncomfortable things tended to get. "Well, like this."

That seemed to change things, at least to some small degree. He watched as James set down his own plate on the coffee table. He closed his eyes. "Qrow, I don't..." Pause. Swallow. "I mean, I do blame you for some of it, but I don't blame you for everything."

"Still mad about the elevator?" Qrow couldn't help but ask the question with a laugh. He knew that it probably wasn't for the best if he tried cracking jokes at the moment, but he wanted to at least try and see how bad things could be. "Because you know I've apologized for that."

To Qrow's surprise, that was actually enough to make James crack a smile. He shook his head, and Qrow could even swear that he could see the tips of James' ears beginning to turn red. Qrow felt a momentary shock of guilt when he thought back to all of the times that the two of them had gotten so close like that.

Before, it had always been in times where they were both coming off of high stress situations, or they were having conversations that were far too hard to get through without the two of them both getting emotional for some reason. Maybe someday they'd be able to connect without that element at play.

"I'm..." James hesitated, shaking his head. Some of his black hair fell out of place and into his face, like it didn't belong there. He closed his eyes and take a deep breath. "I... Yeah, I guess you could say that."

Qrow swallowed and decided to test his luck. Slowly, he began to slide a little bit closer to James so that the two of them were almost touching. "I'm sorry about the elevators." Qrow said, quietly. "But you know... I don't want to forget about them."

"I know." James mumbled, a little too quietly. His ears were still pink. The guy shook his head again and looked over at Qrow. "I'm just trying to figure out what you're playing at is all."

Qrow shrugged. He figured that James had brought up a good question. For Qrow he'd never really thought about what he was doing other than that it was what felt right in the moment, or what he'd wanted in the moment. Whether or not there was a larger game that he was playing for was just not something that Qrow had been thinking about.

He shrugged and pause, weighing every word as carefully as he could before he began to answer James' question. "Well, I just..." He paused and looked directly in James' eyes. "I don't know that you'd get it?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" James asked, his eyes narrowing slightly in some sort of annoyance. Qrow smirked.

"What I mean is, I don't think that you have a single impulsive bone in your body, Jimmy."

" _James._ "

"Right.' Qrow smirked. "I don't think you're one to act in the moment unless it's life or death. You're so..." He paused, looking for the best words. "Calculating, I guess."

"That's it." James answered, frowning slightly. "I'm not impulsive?"

"I'm not saying it's a bad thing-"

Qrow didn't get to finish. James leaned in towards him and pressed his lips against Qrow's in a surprisingly gentle, but forceful kiss that left him feeling breathless and bending under James' pressure, and to some degree, his will. It lasted for a minute or so, and Qrow could barely breathe when it ended.

When James pulled away from him, he smirked. "Is that impulsive enough for you?"

Qrow stared at James, a little more than just unsure about how he was supposed to read into what had happened. He knew that he should go ahead and answer James' question about whether or not he had acted impulsively enough for Qrow's liking, but at the moment, Qrow couldn't really put together anything that looked like a coherent sentence in his head.

He mostly wanted to reach out and pull James back into the kiss instead of letting that contact just be lost for as long as the two of them were there. He didn't want to be in a situation where all of the fun had to be cut off all at once for reasons which were directly out of his control. He liked James a lot, and that kiss had probably been the best one that the two of them had shared yet.

"Yeah." He finally managed to force out an answer of sorts. Qrow didn't want to move, mostly because he didn't want to lose the possibility that the contact between himself and James would fade further. This was too good and too comfortable- he didn't want to lose any of it.

James smiled and leaned in again, pressing another kiss to Qrow's lips before pulling away. This one was gentler, sweeter, and was actually even accompanied by a smile.

The guy really was something else when he wanted to be.

Qrow caught his breath and sat upright, watching as James began to resume what he'd been doing before like there had been absolutely nothing that had changed between them. Like there hadn't been a fevered kiss or anything like that which pushed them through the night.

It was incredible.

"I'm glad that you like it when I'm impulsive."

"I mean, if you're going to be impulsive in that way, I _definitely_ don't mind." Qrow laughed as he folded his legs underneath him. He didn't quite want to reach out and get his food back, if only because he was realizing that he didn't actually know what was going to happen next if he did.

But James was eating, and that meant that for the time being, the guy was at the very least going to be distracted.

"Well, I'm glad that you don't mind." James said, quietly. "I've been thinking a lot and while it's hard to figure out exactly what I'm feeling or what we are..." His voice trailed off slightly. "Qrow, I want to give this a go with you, but I need for you to understand that at best this can be a fling."

Qrow hummed quietly, mulling James' words over in his head. He knew that by the way that things were currently laid out, yeah, it probably was going to have to be a fling and nothing more, and Qrow was mostly willing to accept that fact.

"I think you and I can work things out." Qrow said as he shoveled some food into his mouth. He looked over at James, who had lowered his plate into his lap and was just watching him mostly in silence. "It'll just take work."

"Work." James mumbled. Qrow watched as his gaze strayed away from him and over to the door to James' office. There it was, that worry rising back up about everything that had been going on lately. Ozpin was still there, dancing around in the back of James' mind and refusing to let him go.

Whatever was going on with this job, it was going to be big.

"Jim?" Qrow asked, hoping that he'd be able to get James back to at least some degree. "Do you want to talk about this?"

James sighed heavily and shook his head. "You'll find out soon enough." He mumbled after a few minutes. "I just hope that you don't have to find out because Ozpin decides to make an appearance."

"If they show up..." Qrow paused, not really sure what he could actually say or do that was going to be enough to offer some sort of comfort. There probably wasn't anything. "Do you want me to sleep down here on the couch?"

"What?"

Qrow shrugged. "I mean, as much as I like your guest room, if you think it'd make you feel better if I slept by the door, I can do that." He had to wonder whether or not he was overstepping his bounds or not. Maybe he was offering too much in this situation. "Just tell me."

James swallowed and looked Qrow in the eyes with those scared blue eyes of his own. "You really mean this?"

"I do." Qrow answered with a slight shrug. "If you want for me to help out in that way, I can."

"Qrow..." James' voice trailed off. "I have no reason to fear that they'll show up with the intent to harm." He explained quietly. "I'd prefer if you slept in the guest room."

Qrow could understand that. James needed his security. Qrow could deal with that.

He reached out and placed a gentle hand on James' left leg, and he was left wondering whether or not he was going a little too far again. Whether or not he was inadvertently making things worse. But instead of being brushed off or pushed away, James just set a gentle hand down on top of his and stroked his thumb over the back of Qrow's hand.

It was intimate, and even comforting.

"Jim?" Qrow asked quietly, "is there something that you want to do?"

James swallowed and finally picked Qrow's hand up by the wrist before setting it down onto the couch cushion between the two of them. "I'd like to eat." James said finally, though it sounded a little bit too stunted. "Thank you for coming, Qrow." James said quietly. "I think it'll help a lot to have someone else here that knows what's going on."

"I don't know everything that's going on." Qrow said quietly, staring at James' face the entire while. "You don't tell me as much as I'd like."

"I know." James answered him with a sigh and his eyes flicked away from Qrow in guilt. "It's just..." He paused. "There's a lot of things that I just don't like to tell anyone about what's been going on lately."

"Is that all?" Qrow asked. "Because it seems like you just like to lock everything up in that head of yours and you won't let anyone in." He swallowed. Qrow was positive that he'd just pushed a little too far.

"I don't like letting people in." James admitted. "It's just that this last year has been a lot harder on me and on a lot of other people than I would like."

"Is that all?"

"I mean..." James looked at Qrow directly. "Have you ever felt..." He swallowed. "Like you were broken, and nobody was ever going to want anything to do with you because you are so broken."

"James?"

James raised his hands in front of Qrow, and Qrow just watched as James gingerly removed the glove on his right hand. Everything about the motion was a little too slow, and a little too scared. If he looked at James' elbows, he'd see that they'd been pressed tight against James' sides so that his arms would be less likely to shake.

The glove came off, and James shifted so that he was facing Qrow a bit more head-on. He offered Qrow his right hand, and Qrow nervously took it.

Qrow felt like he was riding through a wave of over two thousand emotions as he actually made contact with James' right hand for the first time. It felt like he was being let into something which was infinitely sacred. Something that was also just as fragile.

He couldn't mess this up.

With his left hand, Qrow reached out, wanting to stroke the back of James' hand and feel the cool metal there. A thousand questions were flitting through his mind that he wanted to go ahead and ask, but he couldn't quite bring himself to get to the point where he could actually ask them.

"James, I-"

Slowly, James turned his hand so that it rested in Qrow's grip with his palm up. "Go ahead." James whispered. "You can..."

Qrow met James' eyes, to see nothing but a complicated emotion that looked like pure trepidation swimming there. This was hard on James, he knew that. He'd never met someone that was so insecure about a part of them, but he couldn't pretend like he didn't understand why James found this stuff stressful.

In fact, considering how the two of them had first interacted when Qrow had found out about James' arm, he could safely say that he never would have expected any of this. The James that he'd first met never would have let him do this unless it was in the grips of some sort of unrelenting nightmare that he knew he was never going to be able to get out of.

"Can I..." Qrow stroked his thumb over James' palm. He'd been wondering about the texture- whether it would be rough for the sake of grip or whether it would be smoother under his touch. When he found was that it was almost polished. "Can I ask about it?"

James sighed quietly, steeling himself for whatever was to come next. Qrow didn't say anything, just gently nudged against James' leg with his knee in hopes that he could offer some sort of small comfort for just a minute. "Yeah." He said after a moment. "You can."

Slowly Qrow rested his fingertips against James', and he could feel the way that James actually tried to move to get out from under Qrow's grip. Qrow guessed that it was mostly force of habit. "Do you feel anything?"

He stared into James' eyes. "On that side, do you feel anything?"

"Yeah." James answered after a long moment. "I do. It's..." he paused. "It's not quite the same. There's things that are either missing or not quite like they should feel. Mostly I just feel pressure."

"Temperature?"

"Can be weird and inaccurate." James replied. "I can get colds and warms, but not much more beyond that."

"What about textures?"

"Nothing." James admitted, sadly. as he began to lace his and Qrow's fingers together to create just a temporary bond that would be able to serve as their great comfort in this moment. "That's the thing that I miss the most- I don't get texture."

Qrow nodded and squeezed James' hand gently. He noticed that Qrow wasn't watching him, and was just happy when he felt James squeeze back- probably just an attempt to prove to Qrow that he wasn't lying or anything about what he could and couldn't feel when they touched like this.

"Do you miss it?"

"All the time." James managed, his voice barely above a whisper. "More than you could ever imagine."

Qrow released James' hand, and just looked up so that his and James' eyes could meet while they sat there in each other's company. He wanted to lean into James' shoulder and make himself comfortable there with him if it was possible, but he also didn't want to end up accidentally falling out of line by doing so.

"I figured." Qrow whispered. "So about the glove-" He paused, trying hard to make sure that he actually knew what he wanted to ask James. He needed to have the exact words in mind if he was going to get around this. "Why do you wear it? If you're already missing stuff for what you can feel on this side then..."

James shook his head. "Hiding it is more important than what I can feel." He finally said, though his voice came out far too quiet for Qrow's liking. James was afraid to admit to all of this. "I don't like the attention that the hand gets."

"Well," Qrow paused, biting his lower lip for a second before finishing. "I like your hand. It's part of you, right?"

"You know it's not just the hand." James mumbled quietly. "You know that I lost my leg too, and a little more after that."

"I do." Qrow mumbled. "And I imagine that you don't' really want to talk about how much more there is after all of that."

James nodded slowly. "Yeah," He leaned back in his seat and tried to make himself more comfortable. Qrow wanted to turn his body so that he would be able to lean back into James' body himself, but he also had the feeling that that wasn't something that he was going to be able to deal with.

It was probably taking a lot out of James to be able to even let someone else do so much as just touch his hand.

"I'm not going to make you tell me anything, you know that, right Jim?"

"I figured as much."

James swallowed visibly, and gently pulled his hand away from Qrow's so that he would be able to feel a little bit more comfortable. Qrow didn't do anything to protest it because he was at a point where he just knew better. This had been a long day so far, and the fact that he and James had been able to talk about things and actually start dealing with some of their shit was making it more than just a little bit emotionally draining.

Qrow was glad that it was finally able to start happening through. It was important, if only for the sake of getting his head straight. Not to mention James' head.

"What are you thinking, Jim?"

"That you've been entirely too calm about all of this." James said, sounding like he was in an assured state of disbelief over the whole thing. "You should be running."

"I don't see why." Qrow answered with a shrug. "I'm mostly just surprised that you actually wanted to go ahead and share all of that with me."

He looked at James' face, and just saw that James was staring down at his hand in a state of something that looked almost like emotional distress. He looked sad, almost. Qrow wanted to do something to be able to get some comfort out of things.

James didn't say anything, just stroked over his own palm with his thumb like he could find some comfort in the motion and sensation.

"Jim?"

James shook his head and refused to look Qrow in the eyes. Qrow couldn't blame James for it. This had to be hard, much harder than anything that Qrow could imagine.

"You're just..." He paused. "You're too good, is all." With that, James patted his leg for a second before pushing himself up to his feet and looking over at Qrow. "I think I'm going to call it a night, Qrow."

Yeah, Qrow couldn't really pretend that he didn't expect for that to come up at some point. This was just part of what he needed to deal with.

"Yeah," Qrow shifted so that he could get up himself. "I should probably eat and then I should be off to bed anyways..."

"Right." James went to the kitchen, and Qrow followed him in, if only because he didn't want to waste what time that the two of them had left that night before they went to bed.


	53. Wave After Wave

James woke up, alone in his own bed and all but entirely surrounded by quiet.

it had been the first time in a while that he'd been able to sleep even remotely soundly, and as a result he wasn't quite sure what he wanted to make of things. James knew that he was going to get up, go downstairs, and start a pot of coffee for himself to enjoy, but that wasn't going to be a big deal.

He'd mostly be sitting around down there until he had everything that he needed and was medicated and comfortable. Eventually Qrow was going to get up, and James was going to begin going about his day normally and trying to get what he needed to do done.

For some reason, despite the fact that he'd slept fairly well the night before, James was exhausted. It was a thing that clung to his bones and refused to release him. It was tied to a lot of feelings that he didn't want to go ahead and deal with quite yet.

The last day had only served to further a lot of James' confusion, and it left him in a weird limbo that he couldn't quite figure his way out of. It wasn't anyone's fault, it was just a side effect of finally _dealing_ with things. The emotional drain had to be expected, at least on some level, James supposed.

But it wouldn't do to just lie there in bed all day. He wouldn't get anything done if he did, James knew that perfectly well.

Slowly, James climbed out of bed and went about the chore of getting dressed for the day that was ahead of him. While he dressed himself, James found himself staring at a singular spot on the ceiling. He didn't like that it was a part of his routine most days, but he knew why he did it- it was mostly an effort to avoid getting upset when he'd only just gotten up for the day no less than an hour before.

Once James was ready, he took the first step out of his bedroom to see that Qrow had left the door to the guest room open. He wanted to pause there for a second and peer in to see that Qrow was doing alright, but James couldn't quite bring himself to do so.

It felt a little bit too creepy, maybe even _skeevy_ to go ahead and do. No matter how much it reminded him of checking in on his daughter, it felt wrong to go ahead and do such a thing in relation to Qrow. Qrow was a grown man who could take care of himself. James knew that.

So James ignored his instincts and slipped off and out of the hallway and went down the stairs to make sure that he could be comfortable for a bit longer.

Every step was torture in its own way. He could feel his hip trying to lock up with every step down, and James mostly just grit his teeth and tried not to think about it. It wasn't worth it to think about it.

He was just going to end up throwing himself off if he did, after all. He didn't want that to happen. Especially not now.

That wasn't even to mention the fact that his arm was aching, and there was a soreness that began to stretch towards his center. It wasn't going to go away that easily. He just needed to _focus_ on getting his medication into him. If he was lucky, then Qrow was going to make it down after everything had kicked in, and then it would be smooth sailing from there.

At least, that was what James was hoping for. If that wasn't what he got, he was sure that he would be able to deal with it and live with it.

Mostly, he was just frustrated that he was having this bad of a flare of pain so early in the morning.

James took his medications and sat on the couch while he listened for the coffee maker to stop percolating so that he could have something to enjoy while he waited for Qrow to get up. He knew that it was going to be a little bit before that happened, but James could deal with that.

One thing at a time. That was what this morning was going to be.

As the haze of medication began to overtake him, James became less and less aware of the room that was around him, and eventually he was able to hear the sound of Qrow coming down the stairs so that the two of them could spend their morning together.

For a second, James was aware of the fact that Qrow was probably going to want something to eat that morning, but that wasn't such a big deal. That was something that he could deal with.

He let out a long sigh and finally Qrow was in the room with him.

"Hey Jimmy." Qrow greeted him casually before flopping down onto the couch next to him. James couldn't respond in any way other than a pained hiss over the jostling. "I think your coffee's done."

James blinked and stared into space for a moment as he tried to figure out what he wanted to say to Qrow at that. there had to be something, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't quite latch onto a singular thought that he wanted to use or say.

"Right." He finally managed with a grimace. James was about to move when he felt that flare of pain racing towards his center again, and relaxed back into the couch. "Could you-"

Qrow blinked and there was a look on his face that read as nothing more than deep concern. He raised a hand like he wanted to say something, but clearly decided against it as he just decided to stand up and wordlessly fetch James a mug of coffee.

James closed his eyes and relaxed back into his seat a bit further, and had to be broken out of the haze of his mind when he heard the sound of Qrow's voice again. "Have you taken your medication?" Qrow called to him as he poured two mugs of coffee and began to pollute the first with far too much sugar and milk. Far more than he would have liked.

"Yeah." James called back with closed eyes. "Just waiting for it to kick in properly."

Qrow didn't respond. Just took the walk out of the kitchen with the two mugs of coffee and sat down next to James silently, passing off the first mug wordlessly. James took it in his left hand. "You gonna be okay?"

Slowly, James nodded his response and brought his coffee to his lips so that he could relish in its warm, if only for just a moment. "Yeah." He finally said.

"You sure?" Qrow asked, sounding more than just a little bit worried by the entire situation. James couldn't blame him for it. Nobody with even a shred of empathy would go by this without feeling some concern over the whole thing.

As for James, he mostly just needed to be able to get his head clear enough so that he'd be able to go through the day later on. It wasn't going to be easy, and it was going to take some time, but he had to make it happen. He had to wrack his brain for anything that he could say to Qrow, and when words didn't come, all that he could manage to do was nod.

Qrow shifted on the couch beside him- something that James supposed that he probably should have suspected would happen. He watched the way that the much thinner man had to change how he was sitting and re-angle himself so that he could look directly in James' eyes. It was weird, but James didn't want to read into it too much.

After all, this was probably just a case of Qrow trying to get a read on him. Nothing weird or malicious, just a friend doing his best to look out for another friend. That was how Qrow was- he was an asshole, he was a pain, and he spent a lot of time antagonizing people, but James had learned that at the end of the day, Qrow did care about the people that were around him quite a big.

He could always respect that about someone.

"It's just pain." James mumbled finally with a low sigh as he tried to stretch out. Maybe if he could get his arms stretched out at his sides enough, it would help to distract him from the pain that ran down his chest and threatened to seep into his spine and make him feel like he wasn't going to be able to even get up and move. "Really, I'll be okay."

Qrow didn't say anything- all he really did was frown slightly before sighing and relaxing back into the couch himself. He rested in a way so that his back was supported by the right armrest of the couch that the two of them were occupying, and Qrow just folded his legs under him so that he wasn't going to end up taking up too much space.

"So." Qrow began, seemingly unsure about whether or not he even wanted to go ahead and ask James a question. "What even is in the plans for today?" The guy reached up and ran a hand through his hair, forcing it back out of his eyes so that he could feel a little bit more comfortable. "Because it would be really helpful to me if I knew what to be ready for…"

That was a good question. Initially James hadn't really had anything planned for the two of them to do that day- his main concern had been making sure that his home was safe and getting a sense of security back when he'd called Qrow and asked him to come over.

James blinked hard, trying to figure out what he wanted to tell Qrow for a second before speaking up. He didn't know whether or not there was anything to expect aside from the fact that there was going to be a meeting with anyone to look forward to. In theory, he should have gone ahead and tried to get into contact with someone else about the job that Ozpin was planning.

Back before the accident, he'd always talked to Glynda to try and plan things. The two of them had been able to make plans cleanly, but things were different now. Things had changed. Now Glynda wasn't directly involved with planning.

He sucked in a deep breath and then he finally spoke up again. "We might have to expect a meeting with Ozpin." James hesitated as he spoke each word, knowing that he was probably taking a little too long to get things done. "I don't know if we can count on it for sure, but..."

"Do they know that I'm here?" Asked Qrow as he leaned back into his seat. "Because..."

"No." James said after a moment. He knew that he wasn't doing well at playing as though he was feeling confident about things. "They don't know anything about you being here." He blinked and looked away from Qrow for a second. "It might be a good idea for us to try and get into contact with the others while we work on the plans for this job."

"You think they'll be able to help?"

"I think that at the very least, Roman can. And Junior probably." James shifted his position on the couch and closed his eyes, finally feeling like he was starting to get himself back enough that he could actually think things over properly without getting too caught up in his own head. "If we can get her to agree to it, I want Glynda as well?"

"And Winter?"

James paused, sounding a bit like he didn't quite know what he wanted to do. He believed in everyone else that he worked with, but he couldn't make himself quite feel comfortable with everything that was going on. He closed his eyes again. "I'm not sure that Winter should be involved."

Qrow nodded, and James was absolutely certain that Qrow was probably thinking that there was something that he had to worry about. For James, there absolutely was something that he had to worry about. He loved Winter like a daughter, and if they were going to go on this job he wasn't so sure that he wanted to get Winter involved in.

James had a lot of regrets about Winter's involvement in the group. She was just a kid, and she didn't deserve _anything_ that she had to go through. James knew for a fact that she wouldn't have gone through a lot of not for his want to get her away from things, but...

Well, in a lot of ways he'd ruined Winter's life.

He wasn't going to just stop regretting that overnight, regardless of what good had managed to come out of it.

There was a part of James that was completely sure that he was going to die regretting Winter's involvement.

James sighed heavily and drank his coffee, trying to get himself feeling better about the situation. He needed to be able to rest, he needed to get comfortable, he needed to find the best way for them to work with what they had been given.

"Qrow," James asked quietly. "Do you know anything about the banks around Atlas?"

That was going to be a big deal. He was going to have to think of ways to figure out things, but he couldn't do this alone. The last time that he'd gone through with making plans for this sort of thing, the job had gone horribly wrong.

James didn't want a repeat of the banquet where there were multiple people that were in the exact wrong positions for their jobs. He needed to get them all placed and ready, but he had to do it according to what made the most sense for each of them.

At the end of the day, James wanted to just get everyone in and out of this safely, and then he was going to be off on his own to live his own life.

On the couch next to him, Qrow shifted in some discomfort as he tried to figure out what he wanted to do. James lifted a hand and carefully set it down on Qrow's knee. He knew that it was probably a bit too forward, but James mostly wanted that little shred of comfort to get him through the day.

"So, Jim." Qrow spoke up. "You and I have Ozpin showing up to look forward to, but you're asking me about banks now, and-"

"It's a bank." James said. "Ozpin wants us to rob a bank."

Qrow blinked and his red eyes went a little too wide, his mouth dropping open in surprise. "A bank?" He blinked again. "Have you done anything to try and do that sort of thing before? I thought that the banquet was as big as you guys got with work, and now you're talking about banks-"

"Qrow." James said, stopping the other man. He knew that he perhaps should have expected some sort of negative reaction to what he'd said. .He knew that he had a lot to worry about. "Look, we've..." He paused. "We've done this sort of thing before. More or less successfully too." He couldn't have felt those words any more bitterly than he did. He couldn't think of anything that made him feel more upset.

"You've..." Qrow paused. "You guys have done this before?"

"I mean." James hesitated, not sure that he knew what he wanted to say to Qrow. "Yeah, we did. Just that things didn't go so well, is all." He shook his head. "We got the money, and we did pretty well." James closed his eyes. He could almost feel that throb running through his right side again, trying to rip him back away from what was going on make it get worse. He didn't want to tell Qrow what the outcome of things were.

He was sure that Qrow was going to be able to figure it out.

"James…" Qrow opened his mouth to ask a question, unsure of what was going to happen. The man lifted a hand up and set it down on James'. All that James could think was that Qrow's touch was comforting. He didn't want to admit as to what was coming up once Qrow figured out what he was saying. "If you guys have done this before, then…" He looked around the house. "Where did the money go?"

James sighed heavily and leaned back into the couch. "Depends who you ask. Everyone has their own bills to pay. Roman and Junior moved in together, probably put their money into making sure that their three daughters will be able to go off to university and making sure that things are set up in case things go wrong. Not to mention helping keep Junior's bar afloat." He paused. "Winter moved out so she could be on her own, and is paying for her own classes." He thought on Glynda, and couldn't quite say what she'd done with her money.

"Welll." Qrow looked James in the eyes. "What about you?"

There it was. James was going to have to address the elephant in the room once and for all, and he was going to have to hope that Qrow didn't get too upset or read into things too much. "I didn't see a cent of my cut."

"What do you mean?"

James stared down at his hand, where it rested on top of Qrow's knee. "I think you know what I mean, Qrow."

Qrow's mouth dropped open and their eyes met. There it was, on the table. It was likely that Qrow didn't want to say anything else about this, mostly because there was a lot to ask about. A lot of questions that James still wasn't quite ready to answer.

"Oh." He finally said, quietly. "And they want you to go ahead and do this sort of job again?"

"Yeah." James answered, bitterly. "They do."

"And you're going to do it?"

"It's my way out." James said finally, trying his best to hide a grimace. "That's all there is to it."

"So that's it then?" Qrow asked quietly. "Do you even actually trust Ozpin to keep their word about whatever little arrangement the two of you made about this whole thing?" He stared up at James with something in his eyes that was akin to hurt. Something that James didn't want to think about.

He didn't want to hurt anyone with what he was doing

Nobody deserved it.

But the thing was that he didn't actually know how he wanted to answer Qrow's question. He didn't even know whether or not he did actually trust Ozpin about anything. Their absence over the time that James had been working with the group had made it incredibly hard for him to trust Ozpin at all.

But at the last job, Ozpin had come through to help when things had finally gone wrong. It had been tense, but they'd been there to help. They'd come through at the end to make sure that all of them had a way to get back home once the limo was gone.

To some degree, James figured that he trusted Ozpin about what was going on. There was an agreement that had been made, and as long as James followed through with his part of it, he didn't have any reason to think that Ozpin was going to break theirs.

"Yeah." James finally said with a heavy sigh. "I guess that I do."

"You don't sound confident about that, Jim."

"I'm not." James said quietly. "But this is my way out, Qrow. I don't want to let myself get steamrolled because I don't trust Ozpin. My family... Penny and I need this, and right now I have no reason to think that I've been lied to." Another pause. "All I have to do is follow through with my part of the deal."

Qrow swallowed, and it seemed like there was a lot of questions that Qrow still wanted ask. A lot of things that he didn't want to say. "So..." He swallowed nervously. "I guess that means that you think that we should start getting ready for a day of meeting with Ozpin, huh?"

That was kind of it, wasn't it?

James shifted where he was sitting on the couch and began to shift so that he could get up and go ahead and start doing his job. He stood up, though the motion was entirely too stiff. Most of the pain was gone, but he was going to need to be able to take some time to go ahead and loosen up to get through the day.

"Yeah." He finally said, knowing that he didn't sound as confident as he would have liked. "We should."

Qrow sighed and nodded, standing up himself and stretching. "I'm going to use the shower first, okay?"

"Okay." James answered, his voice tight. It meant that he had time to get things done and start making sure that his office was ready for whenever Ozpin showed up for their next meeting.

One thing at a time.

That was how this was going to have to go- one thing at a time.

James was pretty sure he could handle that.


	54. Beginning Sparks

Sure enough, Ozpin showed up later that day with a knock on the door to have a meeting with James and Qrow in person.

When they arrived, James and Qrow had been in James' office, doing their best to get things ready for Ozpin's inevitable visit. While James was clearing off the pinboard on one side of the room, Qrow had decided to make himself comfortable in James' computer chair as he thought about what would even happen once Ozpin showed up to make more plans for the job ahead.

When Ozpin knocked on the door, James excused himself for a moment to make sure that he had everything that he was going to need. Qrow was left to wait in the office and couldn't help but groan. This was the part where things were going to start to fall apart. Qrow didn't have _anything_ to do with planning this job, and because Ozpin didn't know that he was going to be there it was going to be a problem.

Normally, Qrow would have been much more okay with being the unknown factor. But with Ozpin, he wasn't so sure. They carried threats that were all their own, vague as they were. Qrow couldn't help but be afraid.

Qrow had to wait there in James' office for a few minutes, but soon enough James and Ozpin entered the room together, with each carrying a mug of coffee, and James carrying a second one that he set down in front of Qrow without a word. A quick glance at the drink told Qrow that James had fixed in the way that Qrow normally liked it.

Ozpin gave Qrow a look, seemingly almost surprised by what was going on. Ozpin had probably already picked up on the fact that they had company when James had made a third drink in the kitchen. "Qrow." Ozpin said as they took one of the two seats that were still left in the office. James took his seat and made himself comfortable as well and leaned back into it.

"Hey Oz." Qrow greeted their leader as he leaned back in his seat a little bit more. "Sorry to be a surprise."

"A pleasant one, if the truth must be told." Ozpin commented. "Though I must say, I have a few questions about _why_ you are here." They blinked and stared at James directly, and Qrow didn't miss for a second the way that James went completely rigid over Ozpin's comment. James wasn't comfortable with this either.

In fact, Ozpin probably knew _exactly_ what was going on. They probably knew exactly what specific nerve they were attacking at the moment. Qrow almost wanted to say something, but he decided not to comment on it. If he started feeling like he needed to say something, then he was going to. It just depended on what James had to say for himself.

"Qrow is here because he's been down on his luck lately." James spoke up, locking his eyes onto Ozpin and giving them a death stare of sorts. There was a definite power play at work, and Qrow didn't know what he wanted to do once things got going. Maybe he was going to need to stay out of the way.

Maybe not.

"That's rather interesting, James." Ozpin commented before looking at Qrow. "So where were you staying last week?"

"With my family." Qrow said, his eyes narrowing slightly. "They were missing me and I figured that the least I could do was make sure that they got to see me for a bit."

Ozpin's gaze travelled over to James as they tried to figure out what was going on there. It was awkward, it was a situation that James needed to deal with, but Qrow knew that he could only do so much on this front.

"Very well." Ozpin commented before looking over at James. "I suppose that we have some work to do, though I must say-" Their eyes strayed over to Qrow. "I wasn't suspecting that there would be company."

"We have work to do." James said, doing his best not to comment on the other thing that Ozpin had said. "I thought that we should discuss placement throughout the plan."

"You are aware that what we did last time probably won't work, right James?"

"i'm well aware." James answered all too calmly. "Though I do think that there are some parts of the plan from last time that worked out rather well."

"And what exactly would you include in that?" Ozpin asked, peering over their mug of coffee to watch James carefully. "The infiltration was..."

"Not the infiltration." James answered, raising a hand to stop Ozpin. The right hand, Qrow realized quickly. "I'm referring to the getaway." For a second James' hand trembled before James balled it into a fist and set it down into his lap. Qrow swallowed, realizing what James was doing instantly. James was talking about doing something again that had almost cost him his life. And James was doing everything in his power to hide his fear.

"You may have to jog my memory." Ozpin answered before their eyes flickered over in Qrow's direction for a moment. "And it may do well to fill in the gaps for Mr. Branwen, seeing as he wasn't yet a part of our..." Ozpin paused with a low hum. " _Organization_."

Qrow blinked and looked up to see James nodding slowly. "Well..."

There was a moment of hesitation before James slipped behind the desk with Qrow and leaned over his body so that he could access something on the desk. Qrow would have edged out of the way, but instead found himself penned in by the sheer size of James' body.

James opened one of the cabinets in the desk and reached in to remove a worn black notebook that reminded Qrow of the small one that James liked to carry with him to their meetings. He closed the drawer once again, and then James was gone, and Qrow had his own space again.

Qrow watched James retake his seat and flip open the book, seemingly looking for something in particular before finding it. "Our getaway-" James began to explain before passing the book to Ozpin. "Was separate cars, all identical, all wired to explode when we needed them to." James blinked and looked up at Ozpin. "We took different directions and did our best not to get noticed, and if something went wrong we were meant to maneuver for each other's safety."

"You do realize that part of this plan _backfired_ , don't you James?" Ozpin and James' eyes met, and there was definite tension that Qrow didn't want to get between for a second. "You almost-"

"A freak accident." James answered, his voice too quietly. "There was..." He shook his head. "It doesn't matter. The point is that it was working, the police didn't know where to go, and everyone was able to ditch their cars and get back to the safe zone when they had a chance to jump to public transit."

"That's not true, James."

"It was a freak accident." James reiterated. His jaw was set and completely tense, and Qrow couldn't blame the guy for it. He knew that this sort of thing was already hard to talk about for James, and he couldn't even begin to imagine what he was going to have to deal with later on.

Ozpin blinked and leaned forward in their chair, just slightly enough so that they could get some leverage and meet James' eyes. "And you insist that this is the best way to do this?"

"Yes." James answered quietly. "I do."

Ozpin let out a heavy sigh and leaned back in their seat. "Very well then. I'll make the arrangements." A pause. "Do you still want them ready to be..."

"Yes."

Qrow looked between Ozpin and James. He had more than just a few questions sticking in the back of his mind that he couldn't exactly go ahead and just voice, not yet at least. There was too much awkwardness, and it seemed like he was stuck in the middle of two people who were doing their best to fight and see who had the most power in this situation.

For the first time, there was nothing that Qrow could imagine about all of this going well. If James and Ozpin were going to try and subtly fight their way through every question like this, then he was going to have a lot to deal with in the future. A part of him wanted to reach out to Roman and Junior so that he could let them know what he was hearing, but Qrow wasn't sure that he could quite go ahead and do that.

He didn't know if telling people the plans being made ahead of time was considered compromising them.

If it was, Qrow didn't want to be the one making things get worse and worse for them. Everyone needed to be able to feel secure once a job got going. It was just that now he was in the middle of seeing what it was like when these sort of jobs got planned.

"So I must ask," James said as he flipped from page to page in his book in search of something. "Is there are a particular reason that you want to attack this particular bank?"

Qrow raised an eyebrow. That wasn't the sort of thing that he'd been expecting to get brought up in the room. Sure, in the past there had always been some sort of speculation on the reasons for which they were doing the things that they were, since it rarely focused on cash alone. The gas stations had been about disrupting a particular business, the banquet had been about trying to sink the Salem Group.

What could this have to do with anything?

"Well," Ozpin began, a slight smirk quirking at the corner of their lips. "I'm just attacking the many businesses that Salem has her hands in, and there are a lot of them."

Qrow blinked. Had they been attacking the same person all along and nobody had realized it? Maybe it was a matter of nobody quite being willing to go ahead and ask the questions about what they were doing. The gas stations had been about Grimm United, Qrow remembered. The banquet had been about the Salem Group itself.

So the bank...

"Very well." James said, his voice cool. Qrow blinked and glued his eyes to James' face, just trying to figure out what was going on in his head. this was one of those times where James seemed to lock down all of his feelings in favor of going ahead and taking control through a lack of emotion. Qrow was sure that he'd see something after when James bothered to let it all out again. "So why the second bank of Atlas?"

"Well," Ozpin paused. "It's where Salem's personal accounts seem to be held." They blinked. "Not to mention that she has some power in the management levels."

"Connections, then."

"Yes." Ozpin answered. "In this case, the bank is owned by a Dr. Arthur Watts, I'm sure you'll be able to find plenty of information on him. He's been using questionable business practices for a while..."

"With all due respect," James began, " _Every_ company has questionable business practices."

Ozpin hummed quietly, almost like they didn't quite know what they wanted to say to James at that. Qrow supposed that if he was put in that position he wouldn't quite know what to say or do either, but to see that from Ozpin was weird. Normally they held themself in a way that made them seem unshakable.

Probably because it was a way for them to guarantee that they held power over everyone else in the room when it came time for them to have meetings. Qrow couldn't blame anyone for that, but now that he was in the room with James and Ozpin alone, and nobody else, it was weird watching the fight.

The struggle between the two of them was more than just a little bit subdued.

"I suppose you are right." Ozpin commented quietly as they folded one leg over the other. They kept their eyes glued to James the entire time. "Though her business tends to be a bit more corrupt than others."

"What is this really all about?" James asked, his eyes narrowing as he leaned in towards Ozpin slightly in an attempt to establish his physical dominance. Qrow had to swallow and force himself not to try to imagine what it would be like to be on the receiving end of this sort of behavior. He was pretty sure that he wouldn't do that well if it were to happen.

For more than a few reasons.

Ozpin didn't seem to buckle though. They locked their eyes onto James' and just leaned a little bit further back in their seat. "James, why don't you sit down."

"Don't tell me what to-"

" _James_." Ozpin spoke up again, this time with their voice a lot more forceful than it had been before. "Sit down and I would be happy to explain everything."

Qrow let his gaze travel between the two of them, in search of something that would be enough to decode what was going on. At this point, he was mostly just glad to be able to sit back and not get into the middle of everything that was going on. The fact that this was a conflict that was being kept almost entirely between James and Ozpin was something that Qrow was grateful for, at least on some level.

FInally James relented though. He sat down and crossed his arms over his chest in an attempt to close himself off from Qrow and Ozpin both.

Ozpin stood up and took their place at the front of the room in the hopes that they were going to be able to command the attention of the two other people that were in the room. Qrow didn't try to move himself, mostly because the most important thing at that point was just making sure that neither of them tried to get too far in the way.

Not that James was going to sit back and wait.

"I've decided on this target because of its closeness to Salem's associates." Ozpin explained quietly. "Arthur Watts and Salem have worked together for years, with Salem running her business and Watts being happy to ensure that she had any resources that she could ever possibly need." Ozpin's gaze glued onto Qrow's. "In this case, what we are dealing with is an attempt to dismantle Salem's business from the top down."

"And what good does robbing this place actually do?" James spoke up, his voice too deep and almost worried sounding. "Aside from get a bunch of money into our pockets."

"My plan," Ozpin said with a quiet sigh that almost spoke of some sort of exasperation. "Is to remove this bank from play. Once it's out of play, most of Salem's main accounts will go down with it, and at that point between the main sources of her finances will be downed. With any luck, having the bank robbed will take that down for at least a little while."

"...And then what?" Qrow spoke up, a little bit unsure that he was actually following what Ozpin was talking about properly. " Because I'm not sure that I follow."

"With the combined number of strikes that we've done against her businesses, her accounts going dark, her stations destroyed..." Ozpin smiled, just slightly. "It'll be enough to take her business down."

Qrow blinked and shifted slightly, because he wasn't sure about what he wanted to make of things anymore. "So what do you have against this lady anyways?" It was a question that Qrow had been wanting to ask for a long time, but had never quite found a reason to ask it. "Because I can't quite figure out what the endgame in this is."

He looked over at James, wondering whether or not James was going to have any idea what the answer to Qrow's question was going to be. Maybe because James had been there longer, it would mean that he was going to have an idea about what was going on.

But when he looked at James, Qrow didn't see anything there. He didn't see any sort of knowing, and when their eyes met, neither of them said anything. There was no comfort in the eye contact that the two of them made, there was only the sign that they were both feeling just as confused by everything.

James paused.

So did Qrow.

"Salem..." Ozpin began to explain. "Well, that's not her real name, for one, but she and I have some history, one could say."

"You better not be dragging us into some sort of divorce or something." Qrow spoke up, his eyes narrowing as he leaned forward towards Ozpin slightly. "Because if you've had us bombing-"

"I can assure the both of you that this has nothing to do with... _romantic_ entanglements." Ozpin said quietly. "Salem and I used to be business partners of sorts. We had several differences when it came to our business that we couldn't patch up so easily. She and I went our separate ways, and she became incredibly successful."

"So what's your problem then?" Qrow waited.

"I watched my old partner get wrapped up in business that she and I never would have done before. I saw her begin to dip her fingers into things that she shouldn't have, and I saw her become more and more corrupted by what she was doing."

Qrow let his eyes stray back over to James as he tried to figure out what he was even supposed to say over that. It sounded like Ozpin had their reasons for what they were doing, but at the same time there was just something extremely off about their explanation. James met his eyes, but didn't say anything, just held the eye contact between them for a moment before turning his attention back to Ozpin.

However, that was more than enough for Qrow. It told him that James was feeling just as unsettled by everything as he was. Maybe this was just going to be a regular thing for them.

But Qrow wasn't just going to let this go at the mention of Salem becoming corrupt. There was still something wrong, something that was disproportionate to what had been going on.

"So your way of dealing with her business practices is to rob and attack her?" Qrow leaned forward in his seat slightly and locked his eyes with Ozpin's. They were probably going to take the chance to get out from under his attention, but Qrow needed this.

"If it were me in her position, I can assure you that she would be doing the same." Ozpin commented all too nonchalantly as they sipped their coffee. "Though, I believe we're straying from the topic at hand." Ozpin turned slightly and looked at what James had set up on the pinboard that was located directly behind them.

There were a few things, all carefully notated and placed in ways so that each piece could be carefully connected. The main thing was a map, with pins that James had placed there to mark all of the bank locations in the city, then there were red marks that Qrow had to guess correlated with something that they were going to have to pay close attention to.

It looked like James had drawn out a number of driving routes through the city, but Qrow didn't want to mention them since it was entirely possible that James was reusing an old map from when they had made plans to attack a bank in the city before.

"Of course." James said, his jaw set as he approached the pinboard himself. "We're going to have to set up a group to do reconnaissance on the area and look over the escape routes."

"Have you thought of assignments yet?" Ozpin asked, their eyes straying over to James. "Or should I do that?"

James inhaled deeply and hesitated for a moment before speaking up. "I figured that since there were going to be separate escapes by the looks of things, it was going to be up to everyone to look over their own routes." James hesitated. "What's going to matter is how things look once we take a proper look at getting everyone in."

"Did you have anything in mind?" Ozpin hummed quietly. "Because if you intend to have Winter..."

"If she's involved, she's going to be the eyes on the outside of the bank." James said quietly. "I'm not sure that she should be getting into the middle of a big job like this one when she's so young."

"Have you considered Roman and Junior?"

"Not yet." James admitted quietly. "I figure we're going to need someone to play security there."

"In all likelihood." Ozpin commented with a quiet hum. "Junior has that sort of work on his resume enough that it shouldn't be an issue."

James sighed heavily, sounding like he wasn't feeling the most confident about what was going on, but willing to accept and at least talk about what was being put on the table for them to deal with. Qrow watched as one of his hands slid down into his pocket, and James was quick to remove a pen which he was nervously capping and uncapping as a way to keep himself feeling a little bit more occupied.

"Junior would be an easy match to get us on the inside." James commented quietly. "If we can get him installed with a carrier company..."

Ozpin turned slightly and looked over at James. Their brow was somewhat furrowed with concentration, and Qrow couldn't help but be unsure of what to go ahead and do to help with the way that things were going.

"What are you planning to do?" Ozpin asked James. "I know that you might have one of the best ins for the bank but..." There was a pause, something hanging in the air. Qrow didn't miss the way that James' shoulders went all stiff with frustration over something that hadn't been brought up just yet. He wanted to ask the question, or to at least be able to get up and try to comfort James somewhat, but couldn't do that.

Not with Ozpin in the room.

But James just sighed and shook his head before lifting a hand to push his hair back out of his face so that he could get his head back under his control. Like there was just something that hadn't been breached that they were both afraid to bring up. "Yes." James finally answered after a long while. "I would have to go back to work, I suppose."

"Do you think they'll take you back?"

Qrow blinked, a little bit unsure of what he could say. But he had questions that he needed to ask- ones that weren't going to get answered easily. He decided that it was for the best that he didn't ask it- if it was something important, then James and Qrow were sure to bring it up.

"I don't know." James commented quietly, though he glared over at Ozpin, presumably for knowing more about James than they should have. "I lost my job for going dark for so long while I was in the hospital." There was a long pause, and something that neither of them wanted to bring up to talk about. James wasn't happy with this. Neither was Ozpin.

"That wasn't your fault." Ozpin said, like they thought that it would somehow be enough to comfort James, even slightly. But it definitely didn't work- James stood there and shot Ozpin a glare of sorts that said simply I know it wasn't my fault.

There was anger in that glare. There was too much emotion that James was completely unwilling to voice. It was the kind of thing that James was sure to have to talk about later on, and Qrow knew that he was going to be the one to get to hear every word of it. Every scrap of anger and frustration…

EIther James was going to clam up and act like he was made of stone because he seemed to think that was a way to get people to stop paying attention, or he was going to let it all out at once in search of some sort of catharsis.

Qrow didn't know which it would be.

There was some small part of him that was worried for what he was going to get later on.

"I know that it wasn't my fault." James said quietly, though there was almost a growl on his voice. "But if they have any reason to believe that I'm coming back with ulterior motives…"

"Did you ever give them reason to suspect you before?" Qrow spoke up now, wondering whether or not he was going to be able to get an idea of what was going on that way.

James hesitated for a moment as he wracked his memory to try and figure out whether or not he had ever given the company that he'd used to work for to suspect that he was up to something. He was pretty sure that he'd never given any sort of reason for them to suspect that he was doing something shady on the side or behind people's backs. Never had he given any evidence that he had any ulterior motives, at least to his memory.

The most sketchy thing that he'd done was that he'd downloaded some proprietary software and found ways to use it without getting into trouble from home. He closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath.

Qrow watched the entire time, wondering whether or not James even had an answer for his question. It was entirely too likely that things were going to end up going completely wrong- or that he might end up with too many eyes on him that would make it hard.

"I don't think there was ever anything." James said quietly, his eyes meeting Qrow's for just a second before looking over at Ozpin. "Do you have any ideas for what you want to do with Glynda?"

Ozpin hummed, a sound that Qrow was sure that he was going to have to get used to at some point. It seemed to be their favorite way to responding to anything, and Qrow was mostly willing to get used to that, as annoying as the humming might get. "I was considering getting her on the inside of the building." Ozpin said quietly. "I do believe that she would be able to play the part of a bank teller quite easily."

As for Qrow, he didn't need half a second to figure out what he thought of that. It was a fitting sort of role for Glynda, and it was probably going to be the best placement that could be managed for anyone on the team once Qrow thought about it. "I think she could do it." Qrow commented, which was enough to make Ozpin look over at him for a second. He leaned back in his seat for a second and waited. "I mean... she seems like she'd fit the role pretty well."

James turned and looked between Qrow and Ozpin, probably thinking the whole thing over for himself as well. James probably need all of the time to figure out what they were going to do, or to figure out how he wanted for these things to go once they got the job going.

If Glynda was going to end up working as a teller at the bank for a while, then it was entirely likely that it was going to make things easier on them once it was time for an escape to be made, Qrow thought. If James had as many hangups about their getaways, then it was probably for the best if there were fewer things for them to worry about.

"It's a good fit." James commented as he turned back towards the map. "It'll give us a little bit less to worry about..." A pause. "At least in theory. If she comes up as being under investigation because of what we're doing, then that'll be a concern."

"Hey," Qrow spoke up, leaning forward in his seat and doing his best to get the rest of the room's attention so that he could talk to the other two honestly about what he was thinking. "Glynda's smart. We go in, rob the bank on her first, second day there, she can leave the bank easily by claiming emotional distress over what happened and she should be getting off scot free."

The room went silent and James and Ozpin's eyes met.

James' mouth dropped open slightly and Qrow just watched as James took down a note and attached it to the side of the map.

"Qrow's right." James said, falling into parade rest almost without a thought to it before turning to Ozpin. "Are you alright with this plan?"

"I like it." Ozpin commented between sips of their coffee. "Should go well."

James nodded, and then he turned back to the map of the city. Qrow didn't know whether or not James was looking for something particular on there, just that James was doing his best to figure out how the rest of the jobs were going to go. Once again, Qrow wanted to get up to try and give James some sort of comfort over what was going on, though he was sure that it wasn't going to be much.

Maybe once Ozpin was gone, he and James were going to be able to talk things over and the two of them were going to be able to calm down somewhat.

He leaned back into his seat and crossed one leg over the other, realizing that the best thing he could do was probably sit back and wait while Ozpin and James made their plans.

For the most part, it was easy enough for him to slip into the quiet and just listen in on what was going on. He listened as James and Ozpin picked out roles for every person in the group with only a little bit of argument between the two of them.

The meeting drew to a close, and Qrow was just left thinking about what it was going to look like once it was time for them to have another proper meeting as they normally would before a job. James and Ozpin both seemed to be taking the chance to try and calm down before slipping out of the office together and heading to the kitchen.

"So, dinner?" Qrow asked, looking up at James as he fell in at the man's side. "With Oz?"

James sighed quietly. "It wouldn't do any good to cast them out completely just yet." He mumbled the words and looked over at Qrow. Their eyes met, and James seemed to have a certain sort of softness in his eyes that Qrow couldn't deny.

One that he wanted to climb into and sink into the warmth of.

He felt his heart nearly skip a beat in his chest, and just smiled at James before falling into the kitchen as they had a conversation with Ozpin about what was going to be the best for their meal that day.

Once Ozpin left, then James and Qrow were going to have plenty of time to talk things over. But for now, he wanted to be able to just relax and try not to think about work for a little bit. This was supposed to be a good time that he spent with James.

Ozpin was just there as a consequence.


	55. Rigid Contact

It was only after Ozpin had left and their meals had been finished that James felt like he was finally able to breathe again.

James sank down into the couch beside Qrow and let out a breath that it almost felt like he'd been holding for the last few hours. He was tense- James _knew_ that he was tense. He just needed to be able to relax for a bit, and James was almost certain that Qrow was going to be feeling a lot of the same tension that he was.

Having Ozpin around for any amount of time just tended to have that effect on people, it seemed. James supposed that it was good for business, but not so great for people who had to deal with them in the real world.

"Hey." Qrow said as he shifted and turned his body so that he could better face James before he made himself comfortable in that position. "Feeling alright?"

James blinked. Qrow had insisted on cleaning everything up while James took a little bit of time to just relax and get his head back together. James didn't even know what was going to be happening over the course of the rest of the day at the moment.

Things were weird, for a lot of people.

"Yeah." James said, keeping his voice as low as he could. He didn't want to deal with noise when he was already feeling incredibly tense as he was. "Are you going to be okay?"

He just watched Qrow's face in search of anything that would be able to give him an idea of what Qrow was thinking after having to sit in on a meeting as he had. They were going to have to talk about getting into contact with the others sometime, James reminded himself. But for now, he was going to sit by and wait with Qrow while they just tried to figure some things out.

The thin man at his side let out a heavy sigh and relaxed into the couch, stretching himself out a little bit further than he strictly needed to. Normally James would have fought back against it, and squirmed away from Qrow so that he would have just a little bit less to worry about. But right now, James couldn't quite find it in himself to do so.

"Yeah-" Qrow finally responded, resting his head against one of the armrests on the couch. He'd somehow managed to get almost his entire body up onto the couch without taking up most of it- a feat that James couldn't quite comprehend himself, especially when Qrow didn't even look like he was uncomfortable. "-You know that we're going to have to tell the others."

"We will." James said, quietly. "But we're not going to be doing that for a little bit."

The room went silent, like they were both afraid to address certain things that were going on. James didn't want to be thinking much about work any more for one- that was stressful enough normally.

Now, he just wanted to be able to relax for a little bit.

The feeling of Qrow's hand on his right leg was enough to make James nearly jolt to get away from the man. He jerked forward, his heart pounding too hard against his chest as he tried to remind himself that Qrow knew about the leg- even if he didn't know about everything else. James was about to edge to the furthest side of the couch when Qrow's voice interrupted and broke him out of the small panic that he was beginning to feel.

"Jim?" Qrow asked, his voice still kept low in volume. "Something wrong?"

James swallowed, and opened his mouth to speak.

Qrow seemed to realize what was going on and yanked his hand away from James. "Sorry." He mumbled quietly for a moment before setting his hand back down on his own leg, well out of the way. James felt a certain pang of guilt over that- Qrow shouldn't have been feeling that awkward just because of him. Qrow didn't deserve that at all.

He sucked in a deep breath and just did his absolute best that he could manage to steel himself before James reached out and gently took Qrow's hand in his own, hoping that it was going to be just enough to help the two of them feel a little bit less awkward. James knew fully well that the two of them needed to talk, but he couldn't quite bring himself to get there long enough so that they could breach the topic.

James did _like_ Qrow, it was just that he was afraid to have someone around that knew so much about him. Especially when it came to such personal matters. The fact that Qrow didn't know the full story was an object in James' mind, but he tried not to let himself get dragged down too badly in that stuff.

He liked Qrow. He could force himself to enjoy his time that he spent with Qrow. That was something that James could do.

"Everything's fine." James said quietly as he just held Qrow's hand in his own. He scanned over the skin there for a moment, and just let himself drink in the details, as guilty as he felt for that. Qrow had smooth skin, but his hand had a bit of scarring on it that left James with a lot of questions that he wanted to ask but couldn't quite bring himself to raise. "I'm sorry."

"I should be the one that's sorry." Qrow said with a low laugh as he let his hand just relax under James' touch. "I should have known better than to get close to you on your right side like that." There was that pause again, hanging over them. James closed his eyes and released Qrow's hand, since he was sure that he shouldn't have been holding onto the man like that anyways. "James?"

"I shouldn't..." James swallowed. Maybe the best thing that he could do was to change the topic and see how that helped things out in the long run. Maybe that was what they needed. "Qrow, I need to..." His voice trailed off for a moment as James just did his best to collect his thoughts before going forward. He wanted to sound right to Qrow, and he wanted desperately to make it sound like he wasn't actually that upset by everything that was going on at the moment. "I need to get used to having people on that side..." James squeezed his eyes shut and took in a breath that was a little too deep before continuing. "I have to get used to having people on my right side eventually."

"I still should have asked." Qrow shifted and turned his body so that he faced James directly now. Neither of them commented on it, and James just did his best to turn his body as well so that he and Qrow could look at each other directly and actually deal with things this way. "Look, if something's wrong you can say so."

"There's nothing wrong." James answered Qrow a little too calmly. "I..." He paused. "Maybe we should move on from this. I think we'll end up talking in circles about how I shouldn't feel bad and you shouldn't feel bad either."

Qrow blinked and stared up at him with those red eyes that looked entirely too gentle. How anyone could make red eyes look gentle, James didn't know, but somehow Qrow could.

There were a lot of things about Qrow that didn't quite make perfect sense to James.

That was one of the things that he liked about Qrow.

"Is there something else that you wanted to talk about then, Jim?" Qrow asked. He crossed his legs under him and made himself comfortable, but he did let some of his weight get held up by his arms as he leaned forward into the plush couch slightly. "Because..."

"Yeah." James cut Qrow off before he could finish. "I wanted to ask if there was anything in particular that you wanted to do while you were in in Atlas." He knew that probably wasn't the absolute best question that he could ask Qrow, but it was all that James could think of to bring up as a topic. There was no way that Qrow had agreed to come out to Atlas for no reason other than to sleep in a bed for a while.

There had to be something else.

Qrow's expression sank, and he looked away from James. there was even a moment where it looked like Qrow was doing his best to hide behind his dark hair so that he didn't have to breach something uncomfortable. "Yeah." he finally said, after a very long pause that seemed to stretch on for eternities. "I need to be able to go and see my sister sometime."

James paused. He remembered Qrow telling him about his sister once way back, but he hadn't paid it the most attention. Mostly he'd been too caught up in his own head to really follow Qrow's story about how his family was kind of a mess. "Yeah?" He asked, quietly. "Is there-"

"I'm going to need to do some stuff first." Qrow said, sounding almost confident. "She works up at Junior's club on most nights, which... Yeah, Junior's pretty good to us. I need to thank him again the next chance I get." The thin man shook his head, and James just decided that the best thing that he could do for Qrow was lean in and listen along. Qrow deserved that.

"Well," James began, weighing his words carefully before he asked them. "Is there anything in particular that you need to do other than get into contact with her?"

Qrow stared into space- seemingly almost afraid to bring up whatever was on his mind. James had to fight not to question it too much, and just relaxed as much as he could. Finally, Qrow spoke up, his voice lower in volume than James had ever heard it before and a certain tension running through his body that James didn't think he'd ever seen in Qrow before.

"Yeah." He finally said. "I'm..." Qrow paused and pushed his hair back out of his face with his right hand- the motion looked too rough. James couldn't help but imagine that it hurt, at least on some level. There was no way that was painless. "When I see her she tends to get me in a bad headspace, Jim." Qrow and his eyes met. "I'm going to... I need for you to lock the liquor cabinet up real good, James."

James was almost taken aback by Qrow's request. He hadn't imagined that he would be getting that sort of request from Qrow for anything. Most days he didn't think that Qrow even talked to anyone about what he was thinking about and what was in his head. James had always figured that Qrow was a bit of a heavy drinker, but how bad it was tended to be an issue in itself.

There was something wrong there that James had always been afraid to even try to breach or address.

"You want me to do that?" James asked, keeping his volume low since he was sure that Qrow was going to need the quiet too. "Because I can do that but I have to wonder..." He swallowed. This wasn't his place to say. "Are you sure going to see your sister is a good idea if she tends to make you feel that way?"

"It's not a good idea." Qrow said, sitting up properly and staring up at a spot on the wall that was over James' shoulder. "But she's my twin sister, I can't just go ahead and forget about her. If she needs me, I've gotta be there for her, and I need to tell her some things." Qrow shook his head and his eyes dropped down to his hands where they rested just in front of Qrow's body. "She needs to know this."

James felt trepidation beginning to creep up his spine. He was afraid to mention what was going on- afraid to breach the topic. He needed to give Qrow what comfort he could about everything, but James was beyond certain that he wasn't going to be able to do quite enough to help.

"What's going on, Qrow?"

Qrow sucked in a deep breath and spoke. "I've told you that Raven is Yang's mom, right?"

"Yes." James answered, deciding that the best thing he could do for Qrow as to just take a back seat and let the other man lead the conversation.

"Right." Qrow paused. "She kind of ran off on Tai and Summer back when Yang was a baby. Nobody quite ever figured out what was wrong, but she ran and we have missed her ever since." Qrow shook his head again. "Ever since, Raven's been kind of... taboo in the house. It's hard on Summer and Tai, especially when Yang asks about her, but it's for the best."

James couldn't miss the sadness that tinged Qrow's voice for a second. He wasn't sure that anyone alive could have missed that sadness. "How does it make you feel?"

"I miss her." Qrow admitted bluntly. "She's my goddamn twin and they want me to just act like she doesn't exist, and now that they know that Raven's still kicking around, well..." A shrug. "It puts me in an awkward spot, we'll put it that way, Jim."

James' heart ached for Qrow. He knew what it felt like to have an awkward home life, but to be put in a position like the one that Qrow was in was something else entirely. He knew that there probably wasn't any way to actually comfort Qrow over all of this, but the least that he could do was make an attempt to help his friend.

"I understand." James swallowed- it wasn't entirely true. "I think I understand."

"Thanks, Jim." Qrow huffed quietly and tried to relax, but it was clear that it wasn't going to work. James expected that- there was probably nothing that was going to be enough to help him relax until all of this business that he was caught up in the middle of was cleared up. "Point is, they know that she's around now and I have to..." Qrow swallowed visibly. "I have to do my best to let her know that I'm not the only one that knows she's around anymore..."

James reached out and gently took Qrow's hand, re-establishing physical contact between the two of them. It was all that he could think of to do for his friend at this point. "What do you think happens now?"

Qrow didn't look over at him. He didn't even react to James' touch. James figured that made sense, the guy was probably a bit too caught up in his own head. "She probably runs again." Qrow mumbled finally. "I just don't want to go through that shit again, you know? It was hard enough the first time."

"I'm sorry." James said, so quietly that it had to be hard to so much as hear. "You don't deserve this." Deep down, James felt bad for saying that. He was sure that Qrow was already of the opinion that he didn't deserve this sort of thing, but James couldn't think of anything else to say to Qrow about it. How could one truly comfort another with regards to a situation so awful?

Qrow squeezed his hand. James said nothing to his friend, just gently returned the squeeze with an even grip. There wasn't really anything that was going to be enough to make most of the awkwardness go away from what was happening. There wasn't any proper form of comfort that James could give Qrow.

The two of them sat together there on James' couch for a while, hands locked together and mostly in silence as Qrow just took the time to try and clear his head up with everything that was going on. After a while, Qrow shifted slightly and tried to rest himself up against James' side, and James very tentatively allowed it. He was sure that Qrow was going to be able to feel everything, but Qrow needed that touch right now.

It was the least that James could do.

If Qrow felt the metallic hardness of James' right side, he didn't say anything. He just laid there and tried to relax, and James knew that it probably wasn't going to be enough. Nothing was going to be enough to calm his friend down in all likelihood- and James was fairly certain that he and Qrow both knew that.

"Qrow-" He finally spoke up, nearly choking on his friend's name the entire time. "-Look, if you have to see her, just... do what you can to get into contact with her first, and I'll do whatever you need me to in order to make sure that you're able to have your meeting."

Qrow blinked and turned his head to look up at James. He didn't say anything again, mostly just nodded. James couldn't help but worry for what had to be going through his friend's head in that moment. The possibility that Qrow was going to end up feeling the need to hit the bottle was something that had already been discussed between the two of them.

It was entirely likely that Qrow was there already mentally and just didn't want to voice that thought.

That was okay. If Qrow got that bad, then James could be there to help him through whatever started flitting through his head.

Slowly, Qrow turned his body so that he could rest his head on James' shoulder. James swallowed nervously since he was sure that Qrow was going to be able to feel every connecting point of metal at that point in the evening. There were few things that were more nerve-wracking about the entire situation, but James just did his best to offer Qrow comfort.

There was some small part of him that was just pretty sure that he owed Qrow for all of the help that he'd gotten from the other man anyways. This was just a chance to even out.

After what felt like an eternity, Qrow spoke. His voice was ragged and he just sounded exhausted. "I'm going to get ahold of her sometime, Jim." Qrow whispered. "Just right now I feel like I need to be able to get my head straight and relax."

James nodded slowly and raised a hand to gently stroke Qrow's hair out of his face. It was perhaps a touch too intimate, but he was just doing what he felt like he could to help. "You can stay here for as long as you need, Qrow." He paused, realizing in full what he had just implied. But James was pretty sure that was something he was going to be okay with. "You know that the guest room is always open."

Qrow blinked and shifted. James pulled his hand away from Qrow's head, almost like he had just been shocked and stayed as calm as he could manage when Qrow looked up into his eyes in search of something that he couldn't quite name. "Mean it?"

"Yeah." James forced out a response. "I gave Winter the same courtesy and..." He stopped himself for a beat just so that he could figure out what he was actually trying to say. "You aren't like her but I figure the least I can do is offer you a proper bed to stay in while you're out here."

For the first time, Qrow actually laughed. It wasn't long or particularly loud- rather, it was the kind that seemed to get caught in his throat as he tried to think of something to say. When Qrow did finally speak, James wasn't surprised at all by it.

"You're allowed to say that you like having me around, you know that, right Jimmy?"

"Yeah." James smirked just slightly. "You know I don't like being called that, right Qrow?"

"Yeah, I do." Qrow shifted and turned again, this time so that he was able to face James directly. "Thank you, Jim."

Qrow shook his head, and James couldn't help but to smile at the way that the man's hair flopped down into his face. It was a good look on him, but James couldn't help the thought that there was absolutely no way that Qrow would be able to fare well in the realm of professional business. He was glad to have Qrow there, regardless.

Terrible nicknames that he hated included.

"Yeah," Qrow finally said again. "I know you hate the nickname Jim." Their eyes separated, and Qrow stared off to somewhere else. James reached out and touched Qrow's hand. Qrow opened his hand and James just slipped his hand into Qrow's.

"And yet you keep using it." James answered with a slight smirk. "I don't know why you do, though."

Qrow shrugged and relaxed in against James' side. "Well, you know-" He began with a low chuckle on his voice. "I like the fact that it gets a rise out of you when I use it." Qrow paused, gluing his eyes onto James' face from the awkward angle he was lying in. "I know that you don't like it, and I even think I have a pretty good idea as to why you don't like it." There was another pause, and something indistinguishable that neither of them wanted to breach lingered there in the silence.

Something that they were both afraid of.

"Well," James said quietly. "Regardless, I still hate it."

Qrow smirked and shook his head again. For a second, he looked over at James and it almost felt like the entire world stopped then. He almost had to remind himself to even be able to breathe, and then he felt Qrow shift again, still against his side. At this point, there was no way that Qrow wasn't aware of the fact that James' entire right side was mostly metal.

He'd been pressed into James for more than long enough to try and figure it out.

But Qrow said nothing, and that was probably the best thing that James could have hoped for.

When the other man raised a hand to cup the side of James' cheek, James had to fight back the desire to pull away and run or hide over the whole thing. This wasn't simple, but it needed to be taken care of. But at the same time, James was content to let the issue sit until they figured out what they wanted to do with all of it.

"Qrow?" He asked, his voice barely above a whisper as he tried to breach a topic that they were both wanting to deal with.

"Yeah?" Qrow asked, turning further so that he was almost straddling James' leg. James swallowed and tried not to mention it- the closeness.

"What are you-"

"I want to-"

" _Qrow-_ "

"Can we?"

Silence again. James was going to have to give the other man an answer, as hard as finding the right words for it tended to be. He would get there though, he was going to be able to deal with Qrow. The request was simple, one that had been asked before, but always in different contexts.

Usually James would have said no, but the last time that they'd been together, on the couch as they were now...

Well, that had somehow managed to change everything. It had made him feel like it was worth it to be there and to say yes. Things were going to end sooner or later, but for now James was content to enjoy himself while things lasted. He was going to be glad to just take it in.

Sure, it was going to hurt even worse when it was finally time for it to end, but for now, he could deal with what was going on.

He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath before he nodding. It was all that he could manage to do, it was all that he could think to do. There were no words for what he wanted to say or do, and so all that he could do was nod and hope that Qrow was going to be glad to go with it.

And it was Qrow, so of course he was.

Qrow leaned in and pressed his lips against James', and James didn't move to push him back. He just let himself relax as much as he could and took in the kiss. He tried to ignore the fact that Qrow was there so close. The fact that Qrow was straddling his leg wasn't what he wanted to think about.

It was a kiss- it was all in good fun. The fact that Qrow was fisting his hands in James' shirt was something that James could ignore, just for a little while. The voice in his head that told him that this was a terrible, terrible idea was also something that he could forget, just for a little while.

Instead, James tried to focus on the little things. He tried to focus on Qrow's scent- earthy, and the feelling of his lips- slightly chapped and rough, but not unpleasant.

When they pulled away, it was Qrow that led in that.

James didn't look up into his friend's eyes because he didn't know what was going to end up coming out of it if he did. He needed that slight amount of separation, as small and hard to believe as it may have been. It was nothing like what James really needed- closer to a thin veneer of being okay than anything else.

Neither of them talked about what had just happened because neither of them wanted to talk about it.

Qrow sat back, balancing himself on the balls of his feet and resting his body so that most of his weight was supported in his legs. James couldn't help the way that his gaze lingered on Qrow's body for far too long, or the way that his stomach began to churn at the knowledge of what was happening.

He closed his eyes and swallowed, hoping that he was going to be okay.

"Jim." Qrow spoke finally, his voice quiet. "You still with me?"

"Yeah." James managed to say, his voice just barely above a whisper. "I am."

"You okay?"

"I think so." James mumbled quietly. This wasn't easy, and James knew fully well that it was never going to be easy. Not really. "Just a little bit lost."

Qrow laughed and leaned in, kissing James again. This time it was incredibly short lived before Qrow finally pulled away and climbed off of the couch. "It's fine, Jim."

They both paused, afraid to say anything about what else was going on.

Deep down, James was sure that the both of them were probably aware of the fact that any dynamic that they had for work had just gotten thrown off almost entirely. Now they were going to have more to deal with, and much much more that could go wrong.

The attachment that was forming between the two of them was dangerous, and they were both fully aware of that fact.

James didn't know why neither of them tried to stop it or cut it off.

They'd figure it out someday, in theory. Someday they might have figured everything out that they needed to deal with.


	56. Family Counseling

Two days passed where Qrow mostly just existed in James' home. It wasn't that he didn't have anything to do, or that he wasn't doing anything while he was there. He mostly just wanted to stay out of the way. And for the most part, that had been possible and he and James had both been happy with the normalcy of it all.

Besides, Qrow had other things that he'd needed to get done before he was going to be able to really deal with the problems that needed to be looked after in his own life. Namely what that meant, was getting in contact with Raven.

He'd given her a phone call, and the two of them had agreed that they were going to be meeting on Wednesday night- that night, after Raven had gotten off of work. Qrow was going to be meeting her outside of the club, and then the two of them were probably heading off to her apartment so that they could talk for a bit.

James had agreed to make sure that Qrow got there for the meeting with Raven on time, and had also agreed to come and get Qrow once everything was said and done, though he had been reluctant when he'd found out exactly what part of the city Raven lived in.

But James had agreed nonetheless.

And that was why Qrow was now waiting outside of the front door of Junior's bar. No more than twenty feet away, James was waiting in his car silently, just in case something went wrong or Qrow ended up needing to leave for some reason.

Qrow had insisted that he didn't need it, but James had insisted otherwise. Apparently making sure that Qrow was going to have a safe way out of there was going to be important to James.

Not that Qrow knew _why_ James felt that way. Not that he'd question it. He was starting to think that James just had some quirks about him.

He may have been standing there outside for close to ten minutes when the door to the bar finally swung open and Raven emerged, dressed in all black, high heeled boots, and in the process of buttoning her shirt.

Qrow looked over at James' car and nodded. James would leave whenever he and Raven did.

"Rae." Qrow announced his presence and she just looked over at him and smirked.

"Hey little brother."

"Hey." Qrow greeted her, frowning over the jab. He kept his hands down in his pockets, partially because it was a chilly night, and partially because it was a way that he was going to be able to keep himself calm while the two of them met. He could feel the envelope with the money that he intended to give to Raven with her rent in it under his fingers this way.

He wasn't worried about whether or not his sister was going to accept it or not.

Mostly, Qrow was just worried about what came after.

Raven gave Qrow a quick look up and down and just nodded at him. It was a signal for him to follow after her, and Qrow was able to do that until the two of them were beside her motorcycle. Raven took her time making sure that everything was in order before climbing on, and once she was ready Qrow climbed on behind her.

There was a small part of him that was very glad that James wasn't the type that would go ahead and laugh at people, regardless of what was going on with them.

If he was being watched by Taiyang, Qrow _knew_ that he would have been laughed at. But James didn't do that sort of thing.

He and Raven didn't say anything to each other before the two of them were off to Raven's apartment. When Qrow looked back at the bar parking lot over his shoulder, he saw James pulling out so that he could begin the drive back to the house until Qrow needed him there.

After that, Qrow was able to just turn his brain off to anything and focus on keeping his balance as in line with his twin's as possible, and making sure that he had a good enough grip on the motorcycle that he wasn't going to have anything to worry about.

The drive across Atlas wasn't too long, mostly because Raven was entirely too comfortable with going ahead weaving in and out of traffic and taking side roads to make sure that they made it to her building quickly.

Neither of them said anything until the two of them were stepping through the door to Raven's apartment themselves, and Qrow was comfortable with it.

The apartment hadn't changed since the last time that he'd been there, and that was something that Qrow supposed he was glad for. It still could have afforded some cleaning up probably, but he wasn't going to judge too much. He mostly didn't have the right to, seeing as he slept on Taiyang and Summer's couch when he was home, and if he wasn't he was sleeping in James' immaculately kept guest room.

Raven closed the door to the apartment behind the two of them and turned to give Qrow a quick look up and down before crossing her arms over her chest and relaxing slightly. "You look good."

"Could say the same to you." Qrow said with a slight shrug as he took the moment to step out of his shoes. "I just wanted to see you, you know?"

"I figured." Raven said with a slight shrug of her own, very much mirroring her brother's motions like she had done a thousand times before when they were younger. It was just normal for the two of them. "Have things been better since-"

Qrow winced, but tried not to let it show. The last time that he and Raven had talked, it had been a little bit different. He'd been upset and angry because he was getting to the end of his rope in regards to what was going on with Summer and Taiyang. He couldn't pretend as though he was okay with everything that was going on, but that didn't mean that he couldn't want to be able to just take things one day at a time at this point.

"Kind of." Qrow said with a shrug as he and Raven walked over to the couch and made themselves comfortable there, just like the last time that the two of them had a visit like this one. He reached down into his pocket and removed the envelope and offered it to Raven. "Figured I could help you out with the rent thing."

Raven paused and just watched Qrow for a moment before reaching out and cautiously taking the envelope from Qrow. He just watched her as she opened the envelope and took a look at the money inside, counting how much there was there inside mentally. "You didn't have to do this." Raven said before levelling a red eyed stare that Qrow never liked being on the receiving on the end of on him. "Qrow-"

"I wanted to do it, Rae." Qrow corrected with a slight shrug. His gaze strayed over to the coffee table. It was still covered in bottles, but unlike his last time that he'd been there, the bottles had been joined by an ashtray that looked like it needed to be cleaned out.

"Well." Raven sighed and tossed the envelope down onto the coffee table beside her. "Thanks for it." There was a pause and she just continued to stare at Qrow, like she was definitely looking for something there that he was afraid she was going to try to name somehow.

He was pretty sure that Raven had figured him out at this point. There was no way that she was unaware of what he was up to at this point.

"Raven-" Qrow swallowed and brought his hands together in front of him, weaving the fingers together in a way so that he wouldn't end up making himself too uncomfortable. It was a way that he was going to be able to hide some of his nerves, at least in theory. Qrow sucked in a deep breath, steeled himself, and continued to talk. "They've figured out what's going on."

"They-" Raven started and then her eyes narrowed dangerously. Qrow swallowed and gave a quick look over his shoulder, just to make sure that he had an escape route if he needed one. He didn't want to have to take it, but if he needed it-

"Raven, don't be-"

 _"They know?"_ Raven's voice was somewhere between pure disbelief and anger. It was a hiss, it was spitting venom, it was her probably thinking over the many ways that she could lash out and kill him if she wanted to. Qrow was afraid that she was going to take that chance if she got it.

Deep down, he was glad for the empty bottles on the table just beside them. If things got to be really bad, it meant that he had something that he could use to defend himself from her.

"Yeah." He finally admitted, though he needed to wait it through. He needed a drink, this was going to probably be the hardest night that he was going to go through in a very long time. "They know."

"You _told_ them?" Raven's eyes narrowed and she leaned in towards him, almost threateningly. _"I told you not to-"_

"I didn't get much of a choice in the matter!" Qrow leaned back in towards Raven, deciding that it was probably for the best if he tried to exert his own physical presence there. "They found out, I owned up to it."

"And is that why you're staying with your little _friend_ here in Atlas?"

"How do you know about that?" Qrow's voice changed tone so that it was almost a growl. "I haven't-"

"I saw the car, Qrow." Raven replied. "If they kicked you out because-" She reached up with her hand and pushed her too wild hair out of her face in an attempt to calm herself down. "I can't believe you."

"Hey," Qrow barked to get her attention onto him. "They haven't kicked me out. I'm staying with a friend because _someone broke into his goddamn house_ and he doesn't feel safe being there alone these days." He swallowed. "Everything I do doesn't revolve around you, Raven."

She stood up, so abruptly that she actually ended up forcing the couch that the two of them were sitting on back just a little bit. Raven turned his back to him and walked to the other side of the room so that she could stare at one of the many drawings on the butcher paper that decorated her apartment.

He knew exactly what this was- this was Raven doing her absolute best to force him out so that she would have a little bit less to be angry at him about. So that she would have less to do with him in the long run.

When she spoke up, Qrow almost had to strain himself to be able to hear what she said.

"I can't believe that you've done this." She growled at him. "I can't believe that you've-"

"Nobody's mad!" Qrow exclaimed as he stood up himself. "Nobody's been kicked out." He dropped his hands down to his sides. "Summer and Tai are kind of upset, but nobody's angry."

 _"And?"  
_  
"And they want you to come to Yang's birthday party." He paused. "You _know_ that's coming up."

"That's not-"

"Don't act like you don't know it." Qrow growled again.

This was going poorly. It was going beyond poorly, but Qrow couldn't just let this go. He needed to come to some sort of conclusion that was going to actually be useful to him and to everyone else that was involved.

At the end of the day, this wasn't about him. It wasn't really about Raven either.

It was about family, specifically a family that Raven had decided to leave behind without a single word to anyone else involved. A family that she had decided to leave behind because she couldn't stand to deal with whatever was going on in her own head.

He couldn't blame her for not being able to deal with those problems, but that didn't make the situation better in a lot of ways. There wasn't any cure for a broken family. Not one that would actually work and wouldn't just serve to make things worse.

At this point, everyone involved in the Xiao Long-Rose-Branwen family was at the end of their collective rope, but that wasn't what mattered. The drama between himself, Raven, Summer, and Taiyang wasn't what mattered the most anymore.

No, _that_ honor went to the two little girls that were so proud to call him their uncle. To the two little girls that he made breakfast for most days.

And so now, when he had Raven standing directly in front of him and refusing to deal with what was going on, it made things much harder on Qrow. He needed a drink, anything to distract himself away from some of the things that were going on in his head.

But that wasn't going to be possible, so instead he had to deal with Raven and hope that he was going to be able to make it through to his sister.

Raven was silent. She didn't turn to look back at him, and Qrow ultimately couldn't blame his sister for that. This was a hard situation for all of them, and the fact of the matter was that they weren't going to be able to heal everything overnight. That wasn't on anyone in particular.

But the least that Raven could do was to turn to him and make it possible for the two of them to actually talk.

She wouldn't do that though. Instead, she stared forward at the wall, at a drawing of a bunch of flowers that Qrow couldn't name. She'd always liked flowers, even back when they'd been young. It was likely that she probably was just looking for something to take herself away from the place that the two of them found themselves in.

"Raven." Qrow spoke again, hoping that he was going to be able to get Raven's attention back on him. "Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about." A pause. "I _need_ to talk to you about this, one on one. It's actually important."

"I know that it's her birthday, Qrow." Raven finally answered him. She kept her voice painfully low in volume, so quiet that Qrow actually had to make an effort to actually hear his sister's voice. She sounded like she was almost broken, and Qrow couldn't help that pang of guilt that shot through his chest over the thought.

There was no room for great guilt there thought, Qrow reminded himself.

This had to be managed.

"Raven," Qrow swallowed and got up off of the couch so that he could approach his sister in hopes that he was going to be able to go ahead and offer a small comfort. Just enough of a comfort that it was going to be enough to get her to be willing to talk about everything. "Talk to me."

"I don't want to." Raven murmured.

"I know."

Qrow approached his sister's back, and he reached out to place his hand on her shoulder as gently as he could manage. It almost felt like it was something that he'd had to negotiate and renegotiate with himself to make it happen.

The last thing that he'd been expecting was the feeling of Raven's hand gently touching his.

"They want me to come?" Raven asked, her voice barely edging above a whisper.

"Yes." Qrow said. He didn't move his hand, just gently gripped Raven's fingers in his own in hopes that he was going to be able to comfort Raven with that alone. "They do."

" _Why?_ "

Qrow swallowed- there was no good answer to that question, or rather, there wasn't quite any good answer that he could give her without upsetting her. There were a lot of reasons that he suspected Taiyang and Summer wanted to have Raven around, even if it was for just a little bit of time. It had something to do with a lost relationship, no doubt, but Yang was as much a part of it as anything else was.

He just took a deep breath- probably one that was a little bit too deep, and finally brought himself to a point where he could say something. "I think that they want for Yang to meet her mother." Qrow said quietly. He knew that there was bitterness that peeked through on his voice. He couldn't help the thought that told him that Raven wasn't really Yang's mom at this point.

That honor better belonged to Summer after so many years of Raven's absence.

But he couldn't say that. He couldn't say that there was a lot of him that wished that his friends had found a way to move on from Raven. He wished that the two of them had found a way to just keep going with their lives and move forward.

Raven wasn't likely to come back.

Qrow knew that Summer and Taiyang knew that too.

Raven shook her head, and her hair swayed with the motion in a way that was almost dramatic in nature. "They don't want that."

"They do, Rae." Qrow responded, as quietly and as gently as he could manage. "They miss you. They want for you to be with Yang, even if it's just for a day."

He took in a deep breath, hoping that it was going to be enough to help things along somewhat. Mostly, Qrow just needed the chance to be able to calm his nerves enough that he could actually concentrate on what he wanted to say at this point.

He needed to get through to Raven. He needed to find a way to ignore the frustrations that he was feeling, he needed a way to be able to get by without getting too caught up in the knowledge that if Raven showed up for this party and then failed to ever make an appearance in the future, it ran the strong risk of ruining all of the peace that they'd been able to partially enjoy over the last few years.

What if Raven showing up caused Yang to get caught up in worries about whether or not her mother wanted her around or not? The last few years, they'd found ways to deal with their worries when it came to Yang because she was so content to be Summer's daughter, and so content to be the spitting image of her father.

Qrow wasn't even sure about how much Yang had even been told about Raven over the course of the last few years.

It was entirely likely that they'd managed to raise Yang without her even realizing that she wasn't Summer's, but there was another possibility. It was too possible that they'd hidden it directly from Yang but she'd come to find out about everything by overhearing her parent's conversations. Qrow was afraid that he might have had something to do with that himself.

"Raven." He spoke up again, just in the hopes that he could get his sister back mentally. "It's not a bad thing to want to..." He swallowed and did his absolute best to collect his thoughts over that. ONe thing at a time- he was just doing a good job of upsetting himself at this point and that wouldn't do. "They just want for you to see Yang, and to maybe fix things."

A pause. "I know that's probably not possible." He mumbled quietly. "But I think that they at least want to be able to make an attempt."

Qrow swallowed. He wanted to do a thousand things, to take a moment to just close his eyes and try to calm himself down so that he could get his head figured out. He could only deal with so much Raven before he started to burn out on things entirely.

He'd come to her, he'd told her what he needed to, and now it was up to her to make some sort of decision, Qrow reminded himself. He'd done what he had to- if Raven turned down the offer, then that was on her. It meant that he could rest somewhat easier, at least running on the theory that he didn't end up getting thrown out of the Xiao Long-Rose house for not bringing her back to them.

He knew that was a bit much to worry about, but it was all that he had stuck in his head at the moment. One thing at a time.

"An attempt?" Raven asked as she turned her head just slightly so that she could look back at him over her shoulder. She didn't turn to face him, not yet. He could feel the way that her hand seemed to tighten any grip that was on his hand at the moment.

He tried his best to ignore the way that her nails seemed to cut into his fingers.

"Yeah." Qrow mumbled, just as quietly as ever. This was going to be his best chance to get through to his sister, he was more than just a little bit sure of it. "They just want to try and talk to you for a little bit, and see if that'll be enough to help them fix things..." His voice trailed off, and Qrow had to remind himself that fixing things at this point was probably a pipe dream at best.

"Well, they at least want to see if they can make it a bit easier for everyone involved, I think." Qrow finished after a very long pause. "This has been hurting everyone, Rae."

"I know." Raven whispered, finally turning so that she could face him. "What do you want me to do?"

Qrow paused. He knew what she was secretly asking him, but was so afraid to go ahead and say out loud. This wasn't a plea for advice, this was a plea for him to give her some sort of instruction about what she was supposed to do.

How Qrow _hated_ it when she would do things like this.

"I'm not telling you what to do." Qrow said as he opened his arms up so that Raven could fold herself into them if she wanted to. "But it would mean a lot to me if you came to the birthday party and just tried to talk to the two of them." Qrow couldn't bring himself to look at his sister's face, and so he instead just stared off into the space just past Raven's too-wild hair. Yang's hair in every way but the color, he reminded himself. Yang took after Raven so much.

"Qrow-" Raven swallowed and rested her head on his shoulder. He still couldn't bring himself to look over at her. "What happens if I go, and it ends up ruining everything?"

"It won't." Qrow said, though he wasn't entirely confident in that fact. "Not much more than things are already ruined."

"You sure about that?"

"Yeah." Qrow paused, his voice going all tight and strained at once. "I am."

Raven sighed heavily and just tightened her grip on him, pulling him in even closer to her body for just a little bit. "I want time to make a decision."

"Okay." Qrow whispered his response. "But you need to decide... at least a day or two before the party so that I can make sure that everything's set up, okay?"

"What-"

"If you're going to be dropping in, people are probably going to want a bit of time beforehand to prepare for that." He grit his teeth and tried to push back any bitterness that was touching his voice. "It doesn't mean that we don't want you around, it just means that it's going to be hard after all these years."

Raven nodded, almost like she couldn't think of anything that she wanted to say to him at that moment. If he concentrated, he could almost swear that he could hear his sister quietly sniffling and trying to force back tears that she wasn't going to allow to flow until he was long gone.

Qrow hesitantly reached up and pet down her hair, just hoping that it was going to be the best comfort that he could offer Raven. He was sure that it wasn't going to be enough, but he had to at least try.

"Raven-" Qrow swallowed as he tried to think of anything that he could say to her. "You know that if you need me, you can just ask."

"I do."

"You know that you don't have to be afraid to-"

"I do." Raven answered again, before Qrow could even finish. "I just don't want to."

Qrow sighed heavily. He needed a drink, so badly. "I know." He finally said after a long pause. He reminded himself for a moment that he'd done everything that he'd needed to do. He'd come, he'd talked to Raven, and he'd brought her some money so that he could at least ensure that she didn't end up homeless.

It was all that he could really do, Qrow reminded himself.

The Branwen twins made their way back over to the couch after a long time, and they just sat there for a long while in relative silence while the two of them just tried to calm down. It wasn't going to be enough, Qrow was sure.

He was going to leave, and he was going to go to James' home where he was going to have a guarantee that he wasn't going to be able to get a drink into his system. Raven wasn't going to have that luxury though. If the bottles on the coffee table were any indicator, then Qrow knew exactly what was going to end up happening later down the line. She was going to drink that night.

She was going to be alone.

Qrow knew that he couldn't go ahead and try to invite Raven over to James', because he was already too on edge to be able to do much of anything that was an unknown factor at the moment.

It was beyond his control.

In an hour or two, Qrow sent James a text message to ask his friend to come and pick him up. James came, and the two of them drove back to James' house without a word passing between the two of them for the entire ride.

They were both tired, and wanted to rest.

James would keep his promise.

Qrow couldn't bring himself to sleep that night. 


	57. The Guest Room

As it always did, morning came and the sun rose.

Qrow started his day off with calling Taiyang to explain what had happened with Raven the night before. It had been a very long time since he'd been able to talk to anyone within his family about what was going on with Raven and how his meetings with her left him feeling. He'd probably never been able to talk about it as he was dealing with those feelings in real time.

Of course, Qrow could talk to James, but it was different with him. He wasn't tied to the heart of the thing like Taiyang or Summer were.

Surprisingly, Taiyang was surprisingly calm and quiet throughout the entire conversation. It was comforting, because it meant that Qrow didn't feel like he was second guessing what he was hearing from Taiyang. What he was saying himself.

Any comfort mattered in that moment, and Qrow would take whatever he could get. He was sure that Taiyang was going to be talking to Summer about what happened, and then the two of them were probably going to be trying to figure out how to talk to Yang about the possibility of Raven coming along.

Whether or not it was something that she should even be told ahead of time or not was sure to be a topic on the table.

Qrow wouldn't be surprised if he got a phone call later on asking for him to be a part of the conversation because in a lot of ways, he was considered the closest link to Raven, and that had nothing to do with the fact that he knew where she was these days.

He just sat in James' guest room for a while. He didn't know what the day was going to look like for him, but for as long as he could, he wanted to be able to just rest and try to sort out his thoughts before he went down to deal with James.

He only really wanted to deal with one incredibly confusing set of feelings at a time.

It occurred to Qrow, as he sat there on the bed in James' guest room that he hadn't really ever taken the time to figure out how he felt about staying in James' guest room.

So for the first time, he actually took an in-depth look around the area and did his best to just think things through.

For a room that had apparently once belonged to a teenage girl, the room was incredibly sparse, and it was painfully clean. He figured that it was probably a result of James' general cleanliness, and that wasn't even considering the fact that Winter seemed to be the same way as James was when it came to such things. There was a window that looked out toward the street below, and the furniture looked like it had once belonged to a full set.

Qrow wondered why James would have kept his guest room furnished despite the fact that nobody was there full-time anymore. Most guests didn't have a need for a dresser and vanity like were in the room.

Maybe it was a remainder from James' old married days that had been left with him. Qrow figured that it was probably not for the best to pry, either way. Some things just weren't his business.

Qrow got up and looked over at the door, thinking over whether or not he should leave and try to see James for the morning. He was pretty sure that he could smell coffee being made from downstairs, which meant that James was out of bed at the very least.

During the last few days, Qrow had been able to get used to the sound of James' uneven footsteps. He'd gotten used to the sound of James in the bathroom that was directly adjacent to his room, and even gotten used to the quiet sound of James' snoring through the shared wall that the two of them had.

Qrow tried hard not to think about what that could mean in the future.

He tried very hard not to think about what him not trying to think about it could possibly mean.

But he knew that he couldn't just sit there in the guest room forever. The least that Qrow could do was get up, go downstairs, and see what James was up to other than presumably putting incredibly amounts of caffeine into his body at once.

In fact, Qrow was sure that James' caffeine consumption was probably unhealthy.

Not that he would ever admit to it.

Qrow stretched and cast a quick look at himself in the mirror before finally slipping out of the bedroom and making his way down the stairs to the kitchen where James was quietly buttering a piece of toast for himself while listening to a weather report on the TV.

"Hey, Jim." Qrow greeted his friend as he slipped up into one of the stools along James' counter.

James looked over at him. "Qrow." He said, his voice quiet and almost small. Qrow wondered whether or not it was just another instance of pain showing up or not. "You're up a bit late."

"Yeah." Qrow admitted, somewhat bitterly. "It was a rough night." He paused. "Thanks for letting me sleep in."

"It's no problem." James said, turning off the television at his side. "Coffee?"

"Please."

James nodded and turned to get down another empty mug, which he was soon to fill with coffee for Qrow before setting it down on the counter between the two of them. "Milk's in the fridge."

"Thanks, Jim." Qrow smiled and slipped down out of his seat to cross the kitchen so that he could fix his coffee.

The two of them managed to fall back into that comfortable sort of silence that Qrow couldn't quite identify as being something in particular. It seemed like that morning James mostly wanted to stay off to the side and do his own thing, which was something that Qrow couldn't really blame the guy for.

It was like he was just focused on a lot of things that he didn't really want to talk about at the moment with Qrow.

Qrow couldn't blame him for that.

He took the first sip of his coffee, and couldn't help but to let out of a contented hum as he took a seat again and felt the heat of the coffee warming his bones, despite the fact that he didn't feel like he really needed it that morning.

James looked over at him and away from the weather report, closing the laptop that it was playing on so that he would be less distracted by it and finally taking a bite of the slice of toast that he'd made for himself. "Sleep okay?" James asked finally, brushing his fingers off on a paper towel and leaning on the counter with his left hip.

"Yeah." Qrow answered, setting his coffee down and just looking up and watching James for a moment. "As well as I could, at least." He paused, and his eyes flicked over to the liquor cabinet, still locked from the night before. "What were you even up to while I was away?"

James blinked, obviously surprised by the fact that Qrow was asking him about such a thing. "I mostly just took the time to work on putting things together for the job." James said quietly. "Nothing that interesting." A pause. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Qrow answered, feeling almost bitter. "I told Tai about what happened last night and he seemed to take it pretty well." He let out a heavy sigh and shook his head. "I'm just mostly really tired."

"I understand." James answered, his voice still incredibly quiet and even gentle. "You know we're going to have things to do today?"

"Yeah." Qrow groaned and leaned back into his seat. "You wanted to talk to Roman and Junior, right?"

"Correct." James said with a slight smile. "I want to make sure that things are planned right, and those two would know what they're the best at for this sort of thing."

"Right." Qrow tried to ignore a small pang in his chest that almost felt like jealousy. It wasn't something to be getting caught up or worked up about, he knew that. This was just a matter of the others having longer experience than he did. If he had been as involved with the group for as long as the others had, then he was sure that he would have been put into the middle of those conversations himself. "Any idea what they'll end up doing?"

"Not yet." James admitted. "Last time, Roman was the one carrying the actual package while I was the... diversion." He paused, and Qrow just watched as James stared wordlessly down into the depths of his mug of coffee, like there would be something that would come to help him work through his thoughts. Qrow wanted to reach out and just place his hand on James' to see whether or not it was going to be enough to offer James some small comfort.

"And what about Junior?" Qrow asked, hoping that he was going to be able to help by just asking the question. Maybe what James needed was something to help jog his memory or something that he could use to remind himself of what had gone right about that doomed mission. "What did he do?"

James sipped his coffee wordlessly, still keeping his eyes fixated on a spot on the counter instead of trying to connect with Qrow at all in regards to what was going on. Qrow couldn't blame James for it- this was hard stuff for anyone to think about, he was sure.

"He was security." James explained quietly. "Kind of. We had him working as a security guard inside the building. He was the eyes that made sure that we were able to get everything that we needed on the inside, and then when the day of the job came, he was the one making sure that we couldn't be caught."

James shook his head. "He's done jobs like that a few times because it was always just what was the most comfortable for him to do and the easiest place to get him hired."

Qrow nodded mutely in understanding. "So what do you think you're going to do with him this time?"

"I've been thinking on it." James mumbled. "I think that the getaway and the actual theft are getting shifted to something else."

Qrow blinked, and he almost felt himself go pale when he realized what James was suggesting. The possibility that they were going to shift their plans away from what had been made with Ozpin's help was real, and it had the potential to go very, very poorly.

"Do you think-"

"I don't know." James mumbled. "Not yet. Which is why i want to go to Roman and Junior and figure things out."

Well, that explained a few things, Qrow found himself thinking to himself. It explained why James wanted to be able to talk to the others so badly. That didn't mean that Qrow didn't have questions about what was going to be left that they could work with. "Any idea when we're seeing them?"

"They were going to come over." James explained quietly. "We were going to work on everything over dinner."

Qrow groaned, realizing that this seemed to be yet another day where he and James had gotten up hours upon hours before they even needed to be doing anything. He probably could have gotten another hour or two of sleep in if he wanted to.

A quick glance over at the clock told Qrow that it was almost noon, and the fact that James had just finished fixing coffee told him that they had both slept in, for several hours by the looks of things.

For James to sleep in so late was definitely strange, at least by Qrow's opinion. The fact that he seemed to be moving easily and didn't seem to be dealing with any pain made Qrow wonder what was different that morning as opposed to all of the other ones that they'd spent together.

"So..." Qrow paused. "What are we even going to have for dinner if those two are planning to come over for it?"

"Well," James hummed quietly. "I haven't decided quite yet. I figured I was going to put something together from what we have in the kitchen, and then we would just see what happened from there."

"Ah." Qrow said. He just watched James as his friend polished off the toast that he'd made for himself and the way that James just relaxed back against the counter behind them. "You going to talk to Glynda about it?"

"I haven't decided." James said quietly. "She and I..." He paused, and for a moment Qrow realized that James' expression read only as being bitter. "We don't tend to get along so well most of the time. Both are too strong headed for our own good or something."

Yeah, Qrow thought to himself. That made a lot of sense- in fact, it made a b it too much sense. He'd always thought that James and Glynda seemed to get along well enough, considering...

There it was, that bitterness burrowing deep into his chest and reminding him that when they'd been at the banquet Qrow had been so jealous of Glynda, and it all had to do with the fact that James was looking at Glynda like she was all of the stars in the sky that night.

The worst part was that Qrow knew it wasn't real. It was an act, put on for the sake of the two of them being able to put on a convincing enough act that they didn't draw too much attention to themselves for the most part.

But still, he felt jealous.

And now, when he sat there in James' kitchen, drinking James' coffee from one of James' mugs, he was realizing why.

Qrow set the mug of coffee that he had down in front of him and just took a deep breath in a weak attempt to collect his thoughts and bring himself back to reality so that he would be able to rest a bit easier with everything that was going on. He needed to just calm down and stop thinking about the fact that he was jealous over an act that James and Glynda had put on.

When he looked back up at James, his friend was staring at him with an expression that Qrow could only really describe as being concerned. Qrow swallowed visibly at the realization that he may have just screwed things over for the rest of the morning. James never liked any sign that people were close to him but-

Well, that had changed, Qrow supposed. Slowly James was drifting closer to him, in ways that felt more and more meaningful than the time before. "If you're so worried about what happens with Glynda, why don't you just try to focus on Roman and Junior first before you move on to the others." A pause. A deep breath. "After all, I don't think anyone's expecting for you to address everyone all at once, especially without..."

The rest didn't need to be said. James nodded.

"I'm going to talk to them first." He re-established, quite clearly. "I..." James paused, like the words that he wanted to say were getting locked up in his throat and he couldn't think of any way that he could get them out. "I trust them both with my life, Qrow."

Somehow, that left Qrow hurting himself as he tried not to think about the fact that James hadn't ever suggested such a thing when it came to him.

"Right." Qrow said quietly, staring down into his coffee again before taking a sip of it in hopes that he was going to be able to calm himself down that way. "You think they're going to be able to help with the planning?"

"Yeah." James answered quietly. "Roman's been involved in planning these things before, and Junior's been around the block so many times that he's probably heard and seen it all at this point." A shrug. "I doubt that Roman doesn't tell him anything, and back when Junior and I were partners, I used to share a lot of plans with him myself."

"You know-" Qrow shook his head. "It's weird, thinking about the fact that I'm not as experienced as most of the people here."

"It's fine." James mumbled. "Everyone has to start somewhere, and..." He paused. "You're actually pretty good at it, you know that Qrow?"

If Qrow had to think back to every time that James had given him some sort of vote of confidence for what he did, Qrow wasn't sure that he would have been able to think of something so kind. This wasn't how James tended to be, and so to get something like that...

Well, it was enough to leave Qrow feeling like he was a little bit warmer than he was feeling before. Like there was something comforting building up in his chest that was enough to make him feel better about how things were going.

Maybe he did actually belong there.

"You really mean that?" Qrow tried to wave the comment off with a laugh, though he was fairly certain that he ultimately failed to deflect much of James' attention that way. James was too smart for his sort of games.

"Yeah." James answered him finally, closing his eyes and resting back against the counter once more, content. For the first time that morning, Qrow realized that James had gone without the glove. "I mean that."

All at once the gravity of what was going on began to weigh down on Qrow in ways that he couldn't quite call unpleasant. It was nice to know that James was so comfortable with him that he was there without the glove and it hadn't even been mentioned. Qrow found himself fixing his gaze on it, and when James realized what he was doing, the hand made its way down into James' pocket.

Qrow couldn't help the way that his heart hurt over that.

He sighed heavily and drank down the rest of his coffee. "So, we should get started on dinner, right?"

James hesitated and sighed quietly. "Yeah." He finally said, shooting Qrow a too-gentle smile. "We should."


	58. Dinner With Friends

The two of them spent most of their day in the kitchen. More accurately, _James_ spent most of his day in the kitchen while Qrow buzzed around the house making sure that things were in order, and even ran out to get groceries once or twice when they realized that James was missing an ingredient that he needed for their dinner.

Qrow didn't mind having to go out for errands, because at least it meant that he was able to help rather than get stuck waiting around for something to do. Keeping James content was just a pleasant side effect of that. Besides, it wasn't like he hadn't done this sort of thing a number of times for the sake of Taiyang and Summer's family. For Qrow, running errands was probably the absolute best thing that he could have gotten stuck doing.

A thought buzzed in the back of his head as he pulled on a clean shirt and looked at himself in James' bathroom mirror- the same one that he'd seen shattered not that long ago. It was one that told him that he liked being able to play domestic with James. It was one that told him that this was just comfortable, and he didn't want to lose it. Qrow liked what he and James had, and that was damn _scary._

Qrow tried not to think about it, or what it meant. He'd told James that he knew about it, but James had never explained what it was all about. There had to be a reason that it had gotten broken, and Qrow was willing that it had something to do with whatever was going on in James' head at the time.

He thought back to that morning, and James' quiet comfort with his presence.

Qrow took a deep breath and went downstairs to see that James was in the process of putting something back into the oven. They exchanged a quick look once James had stood up properly, and then the two of them had to wait. Soon the house would be full of people and the two of them would be able to relax at least slightly.

Waiting was just hard, especially with an awkward topic that neither of them wanted to have to breach between the two of them.

The sound of the doorbell going off meant that Roman and Junior had arrived. James and Qrow stared at each other for a moment, questioning who should get the door. Qrow silently volunteered, if only because James was a bit busy in the kitchen and he didn't want to end up causing a kitchen accident by getting in the way.

When Qrow opened the door, he almost immediately had a large bowl of something shoved into his chest by a wide-smiling Roman Torchwick.

Qrow figured that Roman was expecting James at the door, and so he had to take the bowl kind of awkwardly. "Hey." He finally greeted Roman.

Roman blinked and cocked his head ot the side slightly, trying to figure out what Qrow would be doing there at James' before shrugging it off. "Good seeing you, birdbrain." Roman said, flashing a smile. "May we come in?"

"Yeah." Qrow stepped out of the way, and soon Roman and Junior were both coming in. "Jim's in the kitchen."

There was a pause where Roman's face screwed up a little bit and an eyebrow raised in interest. The orange haired man opened his mouth and it _looked_ like Roman was about to ask something, but was quickly stopped by a gentle wave of Junior's hand.

"Does he need help with anything?" Junior asked instead, his voice as soft as ever.

Qrow looked back at James over his shoulder, to see that James had paused for a moment to enjoy a glass of water. "I think he's probably fine."

Junior nodded, and closed the door behind him. The three of them went to the kitchen divider, and James just looked between Roman and Junior before putting on his best smile. "Do you two want something to drink?"

"Only your finest merlot." Roman said with a wide grin that earned a roll of the eyes from James. Junior just shook his head and very politely asked for a glass of water.

James just smiled and got them two glasses of water and then looked at Qrow. "You?"

"I'm good, Jim." Qrow said, feeling almost sheepish when he realized that this somehow almost felt like a double date. In fact, there was something entirely too domestic about the situation that Qrow couldn't quite make himself feel comfortable about. Something twisted in the p8it of Qrow's stomach that he didn't dare acknowledge. "Thanks."

James nodded and turned to check something that was cooling on the stovetop. "I'm glad you two were able to make it." He raised his voice just slightly, so that he would be able to address Roman and Junior both. "I have a lot to tell you two about, and I think having you two here for a bit will help a lot."

"Well," Roman leaned back into his seat and sipped his water. "I will say, I am really looking forward to seeing what you have up your sleeve these days Jim."

For just a second, Qrow could have sworn that he saw James stiffen, but he couldn't quite guess why. It felt like a weird thing to get awkward about. "It's just work." James said finally, staring down at the pot of something that he was stirring. "I've had visits from Ozpin and I wanted to talk over what they want to do with you two."

The room went quiet at that. Roman and Junior exchanged a look that said that they were both finally understanding that what Ozpin had said at that meeting was true. Ozpin was working closely with James, but on what specifically hadn't been brought to them just yet.

"Is it big stuff?" Roman asked, nervously. "Because-"

"Yeah." James confirmed, cutting his friend off. "It's big."

Roman and Junior both were quiet for a moment, and then Junior spoke up, though he kept his volume somewhat hushed. "I almost missed these dinners, James." Junior paused for half a minute, and it was just _awkward_. "It's been a long time."

James sighed heavily and turned to face them now, leaning against one of the counters. "It has, hasn't it?" James finally said with some slight hesitation. "I can't say I've missed these dinners."

"Well," Roman spoke up now. "It's a chance to finally get back to normal, you know?"

James nodded slowly. "As normal as we can manage, I suppose."

"Right." Junior said, keeping his voice low for a bit. "As normal as things can be."

Qrow looked over at James, and saw the way that his right hand had been balled into a fist for a moment. There was a tension that he was fairly certain nobody in the room was going to be willing to bring up or address. After seeing James so much and talking to him, and learning about him, Qrow couldn't imagine how much harder it was to hear those words for James.

Maybe it was because James had a normal that he knew he _never_ could come back to, no matter how hard he tried.

James nodded slowly though, and said nothing. He turned so that he was at the cabinet that Qrow knew held all of the plates and reached into it so that he could get them ready for them to eat. Slowly, James began to lay each one out, following up with a set of silverware for each plate. It was a little weird, since Qrow hadn't ever seen James like this. He figured it probably had to do with the fact that this was James' home.

"So," Roman leaned in and watched James closely, smiling gently. "What did you even make for us, Jim?"

"Chicken." James answered, with a smile. "Some vegetables, baked potatoes. Nothing particularly fancy, if that's what you want to know." He looked between Junior and Roman and raised an eyebrow when Qrow finally put down the bowl that he'd been given when the two of them had arrived. "Though, I'm curious as to what you two brought?"

"Salad." Junior said, with a low laugh. "I'm sure you're familiar?"

James smiled and tilted his head back, seeming very comfortable and even pleased to hear that Junior had brought something. "Thank you." He said, smiling widely. "I am always a fan." James paused, his expression softening slightly. "It's been what, a year?"

"Something like that." Junior laughed quietly. He got up and walked around the side of the counter so that he could open the bowl and the two of them could get everything together so that everyone was going to be able to get their food. The two of them bickered a little bit, and for a moment, Qrow was almost reminded that James was actually _friends_ with everyone else.

As distant as he seemed, he had nights like these where he was able to just relax for a bit and enjoy himself.

James stepped back to the back of the kitchen, and that was the sign that everyone could get up and get their plates of food. Qrow decided that it was for the best that he should stay back for a bit so that he could just stay out of his way and get the guests taken care of first.

The fact that he himself was a guest that something that didn't occur to Qrow. He just felt like he belonged there a little bit too much. Not that he'd let James be aware of that.

Roman and Junior went off to the living room so that they could sit down and get ready to eat, which left James and Qrow alone there in the kitchen for a minute. James gave him a gentle look and then just gestured gently towards the food. "You should get something."

"Yeah." Qrow said as he began to fill a plate of his own. "Thanks for making dinner, James."

James laughed quietly. "You helped." The tall man shrugged, almost sheepish. "I dunno, I'm just..." James stared off towards the counter of the kitchen and dropped his volume so that he couldn't be overheard. He didn't let himself look up at Qrow, and it left Qrow wondering whether or not there was something that James was trying to avoid, yet again.

He hoped not.

"You're just?" Qrow finished filling his plate and stepped out of the kitchen, just hanging by the entrance so that he was out of the way.

"It's nice, is all.' James said quietly as he filled his own plate. "Go join them, I'll be out in a minute."

Qrow sighed and nodded before joining Roman and Junior. The two of them had taken their seats on James' couch, but neither of them had begun to eat just yet, which Qrow was kind of glad for. He took a seat in one of the chairs that James had asked him to move into the living room earlier and just looked between the guests.

"He'll be with us in a moment." Qrow said, leaning back in his seat.

Roman laughed quietly and shook his head, giving Junior a look. "I told you."

Junior rolled his eyes and laughed quietly. "Yeah, yeah."

Qrow looked between the two of them, confused by what was going on but not wanting to ask just in case the two of them were talking about something that they didn't want to deal with. He swallowed, figuring that it didn't hurt for him to ask the question for no reason other than getting it off the table so that he wasn't going to have to worry about it.

"What did I miss?" Qrow asked, furrowing his brow and looking over at Junior, since he was certain that he was less likely to be able to hold back on saying what was going on himself. "Something important?"

"Uh..." Junior looked over at Roman, looking almost sheepish. "Do you want to-"

"We just realized that you and James got close." Roman said, dropping his volume dangerously low. "I don't think we've seen him that close with anyone before, and then you opened the door-"

Qrow felt his face get hot over that. It was something that he hadn't even considered. There had been a few times where Qrow had felt like he and James were getting a little too domestic, in ways that he wasn't used to. Normally, he just did whatever felt best for when he and James were together. They were getting close, but there hadn't been a second where Qrow had thought about the possibility of how it would look to others.

"Ah." Qrow paused. "Don't let him hear that." He looked back over at the entrance to the kitchen out of the corner of his eye, mostly worried that James was going to end up making an appearance soon and it would just be terribly awkward. Knowing how James liked to avoid this sort of thing, it was for the best that they found a way to stop the conversation before James got in.

Roman shrugged slightly. "He'll be fine." He reassured Qrow just as James was stepping through the door and the three of them were all able to relax as James seated himself in one of the seats and looked around the table.

James made himself as comfortable as he could managed and looked between the rest of them before raising a glass in silent toast to the others. The others mirrored what he was doing, and then they relaxed a bit and began their meals. This was going to take a bit of time, Qrow thought, but they were going to be getting to work rather quickly.

Surprisingly, when the four of them fell into discussion, none of them talked about work or anything that was going to require a lot of concentration from most of them. Instead, it became a conversation about how their respective families were all doing. It turned out that James had spent his time with Penny doing all sorts of things that Qrow hadn't even _considered_ being on the table at any point.

On the other hand, Junior was talking about how the twins were doing rather well in school, and Roman was talking about how Neo and him were planning to get an ice cream maker for the house so that they could make something in the future.

When it came Qrow's turn to talk about Yang and Ruby, it was hard. He needed to hesitate for a moment as he thought back to the night before when he'd spoken to Raven. But Qrow talked, and he told them about how the Xiao Long-Rose clan was getting ready for a birthday party, and when he saw that everyone seemed interested, Qrow was able to actually talk about what was going on with Raven.

And being able to finally just vent to people who didn't know that much about the family or their dynamic was nice. It was something that Qrow felt like he'd been needing for a while, and after all was said and done he was almost left feeling like he was able to relax. Qrow sucked in a deep breath and looked around the table, to see that James was looking at him a little too softly.

It left him second-guessing what he'd just did.

It also left him checking how Roman and Junior looked to see whether or not they were finding his rant to have been either a bit much or just plain off putting.

"That-" Roman started, still staring Qrow down. "That's just shit, Qrow."

"Yeah." Junior spoke up now, leaning back where he was sitting on the couch just slightly. "Look, do..." Pause. "Do you want to get a job at the bar full time?"

The room went silent.

"I-"

"Look, it's just..." Junior hesitated, and when Qrow looked into Junior's eyes there was too much softness there too. Something that Junior was afraid to say or feel. "If you think that you might need a way to get out of there to feel happy with things, I'm willing to help you out."

Qrow paused, not really sure if there was any way that he could properly respond to Junior's question. "I uh..." He bit his lower lip, thinking it over as hard as he needed to. "I want to get out of the living on a couch thing, but I don't want to end up leaving them out in the cold or anything." Qrow shrugged. "They're my family and I love them, it's just hard being there when I'm not allowed to _talk_ to anyone or deal with some of this stuff that's happened in the last couple of years."

He knew for a fact that he looked over at James out of the corner of his eye, and that he shouldn't have done that. He knew fully well that James was probably going to clam up pretty badly, especially if he ended up going ahead to say something about how James had been able to offer him so much comfort over the course of the last year.

"But you can't live on their couch forever." James spoke up now, his voice almost hushed. "I know that it's hard, but it'd probably be for the best if you got out of that."

Qrow took a deep breath and mulled over the choice that he'd been offered. The fact of the matter was that as badly as he wanted to take the job at Junior's bar and as much as it had the potential to fix things for him, he wasn't sure that he should. If it was becoming Raven's place, he didn't want to be the one that was going to end up infringing on that and making his sister's life hell.

She liked to keep in touch, but she didn't like to stay close. That was Raven's way- it hurt Qrow, but he was well beyond the point where he was going to let it bother him at every turn. Mostly, he was worried about what could happen if he took the job at Junior's bar and only ended up hurting Raven because of it. She didn't deserve that.

"I want to say yes." Qrow said finally. "I'd have to get a lot of things in order but-" A shrug. "I want to say yes. I need to figure some things out with Raven first, though."

"Well-" Roman spoke up, shifting forward where he was sitting. "If you ever need anything, you're allowed to ask me and baby bear for some help." A shrug. "We don't mind."

It was a tempting offer. In fact, it wasn't just a tempting offer for Qrow, it was the kind of thing that he could have very easily gone ahead and said yes to, but there was just one problem.

Qrow didn't know what he would ask the others for help with. He was sure that if he asked nicely he would probably be able to keep on staying in James' guest room if he needed to, not that James would say much on the matter. James would likely brush it off as needing Qrow to help pay for his own food and help out around the house, but that was something that he was more than happy to do.

It was like the arrangement that he had with Taiyang and Summer, just without the benefit of getting to spend time with his two nieces all the time. That would be disappointing, but having an actual bed was one of those things that would be nice.

Qrow took a deep breath and looked between Junior and Roman, and finally he brought himself to say something to the two of them. "I'll uh..." He shrugged. "I'll let you know." Under the table, he felt a gentle nudge of someone's foot against his, and Qrow realized without much thinking that it was undoubtedly James' foot.

James was trying to offer him comfort in a way that was going to keep the two of them from getting noticed. Qrow didn't know whether he should have been going ahead and reading into that, but he wanted to. Maybe James really did like him after all.

"Well-" Junior set his fork down, having cleared off his plate at some point in the conversation. "If you do every need something, you can just ask. My offer stands for the job, Qrow." He paused, weighing what he wanted to say next. Qrow was glad for it. "I consider you a friend. I'm sure all of us do."

For just a second, Junior's eyes seemed to flicker over to James, but they weren't allowed to linger there, for even a second.

Again, Qrow was left without words and without anything that he could have said. He considered everyone at that table a friend to him, definitely, but it wasn't as simple as they probably wanted it to seem.

James had been talking about needing to leave them all behind once he left. If Qrow left himself, he was sure that he was going to have to cut off his other friendships as well.

As much as he liked Roman and Junior, it left Qrow feeling more than just a little bit unsure about what he wanted to take as a next course of action. If he ended up leaving, then he was going to end up losing a major part of his own support network by default.

It was enough to leave a very bitter taste in his mouth.

"I'll let you know." Qrow finally said, looking down at his own half-finished plate. "Just need time to think things over."

This time, James spoke up, and he was just so gentle with his words that Qrow couldn't help how happy it left him feeling to hear. There was that low voice, offering him comfort but also giving the rest of them a direction to take in their time together. "I'm sure that it'll all come together in due time." James said quietly. "But for now, I think that it would be beneficial if we finished dinner so that we can get on to work."

The room went silent then, in a way that they all figured they should have expected. They all knew exactly what was coming up, even if Junior and Roman didn't have the details about what James had been planning. Qrow at least had the privilege of having the baseline information.

"Right." Junior said, nodding and leaning back into the seat and placing his folded together hands on his stomach. Qrow shook his head and looked down at his food before deciding that James was probably right.

Qrow didn't protest it, because he didn't think that it was a good idea for him to do it.

They all finished their food in relative silent, and when it was done, they made a group migration over to James' office.


	59. Recursion

Wordlessly, the four men filed into James' office and took their seats or otherwise arranged themselves comfortably. It was a situation which was certainly less than ideal, but there was room for all four of them there.

James was particularly nervous about what was to come- normally he wasn't the biggest fan of having to lead conversations and meetings like this, but right now it was necessary. It had been a long time since he'd last been in a leadership situation.

Because of that, James wanted to make it so that the others were going to be able to know what was going on at least on some level before they went into a meeting with Ozpin properly. It wasn't the best thing that he could do for them- really leting anyone in on incomplete plans ran much closer to being deeply irresponsible than anything else. But James didn't trust Ozpin so he did what he had to.

James and Qrow were both about to make a beeline for the desk, but Qrow seemed to realize what was happening and decided to stop. Qrow just shot him a weak smile and took one of the other chairs, leaving James the desk for himself.

James was glad for it, partially because he had an ergonomic chair that wasn't going to inevitably causing him back pain, and partially because it meant that he was going to have most of his material that he'd gotten together right there at his fingertips for use. That wasn't to say that James was expecting to spend much time at the desk properly, but having everything he could possibly need right there was useful.

There weren't many better arrangements that they could have used, James figured.

All of the chairs got crowded around the desk, and James just took a moment to pull down his pinboard on the wall so that he could bring it over to the desk. Reasonably he could have left it up on the wall, but he wanted it close for the time being.

Finally, James seated himself and looked between the three others in the room. He felt a little bit guilty for what he was about to bring to the table for them, and the fact of the matter was that it wasn't so easy for him to talk about or think about the issues on the table as well.

But he didn't know the full context for everything that had happened with the others while he was in a coma.

"So," Roman grinned widely and leaned in across the table. "Why don't you tell us what this is all about _General?_ "

James frowned. He didn't like the old codename normally, but it seemed like he didn't have much of a choice in getting to hear it these days. "As the three of you know, I've been contacted by Ozpin in regards to helping plan an upcoming job." He paused, trying to find the best possible way to present what he was being asked to help plan. "And I wanted to float some ideas by the three of you before we make any of these plans official or final."

"James?" Roman asked, sounding a little bit worried at the very least by the situation at hand. James couldn't blame him for it.

James sighed heavily and rested his hands on the table in front of him. "Ozpin has requested that I aid in the planning of a robbery of the Second National Bank of Atlas."

The room went completely silent. It was something that James had been expecting, all things considered. The last job before his return seemed to have had a significant impact on all of their lives, but nobody had been fully willing to talk about or acknowledge that fact.

James looked at Junior, and then at Roman. The redhead seemed like all of the color had drained out of his face entirely, and Junior was staring down at the map in front of them like his life depended on it. In his seat, Qrow was just sitting there with his arms crossed over his chest, even looking a little bit worried himself.

"You're..." Roman spoke, and there was something dark tinging his voice that James had never heard from the man before. There was an anger there that hadn't been voiced.

In all of the years that he had known Roman, James couldn't think of a single time where the man had gotten truly angry at him. Roman would have his moments where he'd throw around a snarkier than usual comment, but never did he sound like this before.

"Roman?"

"You agreed to do the same sort of job that _almost got you killed?_ " Roman looked up at James directly now, and his eyes were narrowed. His entire body had gone tense with anger, and James couldn't think of a single thing that he could have done or said that would have been enough to calm the situation down- this was bad. But admittedly, James couldn't exactly deny that it was predictable.

So James took a deep breath and did his absolute best to be able to collect himself before he finally said something to the others. "Yes." James began his explanation, his voice low. "I did. But it wasn't a decision that was made lightly, I should note." He crossed his arms over his chest, partially for comfort. "There was an offer that I couldn't just leave on the table." Pause. "I know fully well what I've agreed to do, Roman."

Roman seemed to sneer at him for that. "Well I'm glad that you didn't make a decision blindly, but what the _hell_ were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that I finally had a way out of this horseshit." James growled back at Roman, even finding himself leaning in towards the table in an attempt to make himself a bit more imposing.

"I'd just really appreciate it if I got some understanding for that fact." James growled and stared dead into Roman's eyes. He knew fully well what he was doing- that he was using intimidation to get what he needed even though he hadn't used such a tactic in a very long time. "I am fully aware of what I'm doing, Roman. And it's important that I do this."

James didn't even register what was happening for a moment. He didn't realize that Roman was staring back at him with those green eyes of his a little too wide and scared to be any good. He didn't realize that Qrow and Junior were both staring at him with shock written across their faces, clear as day.

So when that all came crashing down and James realized what he'd done, he squeezed his eyes shut and changed how he was standing so that he wasn't leaning against the desk anymore. All at once, James tried to remove as much aggression from his body as he could possibly manage before letting out a too-heavy sigh.

"My apologies." A swallow as James slipped his hands behind his back as he had a hundred times before in an attempt to just get himself back together in ways where he wasn't holding himself to scare people anymore. He stared down at the map in front of the four of them. "What I'm trying to say is that this wasn't… a decision that was made lightly."

Roman swallowed as well, and he shifted so that he was sitting upright himself. Out of the corner of his eye, James was able to see the way that Roman and Junior's fingers twined together as the two of them offered the small comfort that they could. James tried to ignore it, and just let his eyes flicker up to Qrow so that he could get a good read on how he was feeling about things.

Admittedly, James had gone a little too far. He had his regrets about that, but it meant that he needed to work hard to get the rest of the room on his side if things were going to be able to go well at the end of the day for all of this. He sucked in a deep breath, and looked down at the map in front of him.

"As for the job, you all know that it's going to be a bank robbery now, but I should stress that this is going to be a hard job to do." James stared down at the map, his eyes travelling over every inch of it and examining every roadway and how they led away from their target only to later knit themselves back together and meet. "For a lot of reasons, this is going to be a hard one."

Junior leaned in, and his and James' heads were almost parallel to each other as the two of them both stared the map down. "So what are we going to have to do?"

"It's not going to be the exact same as last time." James responded as calmly as he stood up straight. He found himself reaching for his glove on his right hand and adjusting how it rested on his wrist for just a moment. It wasn't that it was uncomfortable, he just needed to be able to keep himself distracted from some of the things that were going on. "We get in, make our way into the vault, and then we make a getaway."

Almost as quietly as he could manage, James mumbled "Hopefully with no casualties."

The way that everyone was looking at him told James that everyone else had managed to hear him. James shook his head and decided to keep going with his explanation. "As of right now, I might have to be looking at going back to work for a while so that I can play out my part of the job." He shrugged. "We're going to need someone on the inside, I'm thinking for now." His eyes met Junior's finally. "Do you think that you can pull off security?"

Junior smiled, a wide grin that James had grown used to seeing a number of times in the past. This was the best sign of confidence that he'd seen out of the other man in a long time, and James was more than glad to see Junior that way. Of course, Junior was usually good at playing the part of security. It wouldn't have been the first time that they had put Junior in that sort of role.

Of course, getting people hired where their targets were was always risky business that they went through. There was no guarantee that people wouldn't notice what they were doing. There was no guarantee that they were going to get through this without extra trouble. The fact that nobody had ever realized that Junior was on the inside when they hit their targets yet was a miracle.

But, there were some things that had helped them out over the many years. The fact that Ozpin had never been below putting them with fake identities and social security numbers to make sure that they avoided capture helped. The fact that they'd managed to get Junior installed with security companies also helped.

Nobody turned their eye onto the guy that was there for temporary work.

"I can do security." Junior muttered finally. "Nothing I haven't done before."

"What about me?" Roman spoke up quietly, his eyes slightly narrowed. "Because I don't really know where you want me, big guy."

James hesitated. He knew fully well that he shouldn't have been trying to make any sort of plans concrete without Ozpin's permission or without their help at the very least, but at the same time…

There was a part of him that him that the best thing that he could do was to go ahead with making plans _without_ Ozpin. There was that knowledge sticking at the back of James' mind that he had something that Ozpin had never gained with most of the group.

Ozpin had spent years completely out of sight and out of mind, and that had only changed lately. Working out of the shadows for so long meant that aside from perhaps Glynda, Ozpin didn't have any loyalty from the others. If it came down to needing to make a choice between himself and Ozpin, James was mostly confident that the group would choose him to lead.

"I haven't thought about particular placement for everyone just yet." James mumbled quietly. "I'm going to have to play along like I used to with my old job."

"So-"

"Armored delivery truck." James answered, his brow furrowing for just a moment. "I can't risk getting figured out through work, I don't think." He hesitated, thinking had on what Ozpin had been able to procure for the group in the past that they could use. Limousines and cars had never been a problem before, so in theory an armored delivery vehicle wouldn't be that hard.

Roman leaned back in his seat. "You're going to try and fake a pickup or delivery?"

"A pickup is better for us." James answered quietly. "We'll need to do some pretty in depth reconnaissance to find the schedule they run on though."

He watched Roman's smile split into a wide grin. "Well, I am always a fan of doing that sort of thing, don't you know?" The redhead leaned in slightly and focused his gaze on James'. "I would be happy to help."

Considering how things had gone earlier in that meeting, James was glad to see Roman not only acting so confidently, but so amicably. "I appreciate it." James said finally. He looked over at Qrow. "I think I know where you should be for this." James almost wanted to stop himself from going too far with it.

In fact, he did want to stop, but he knew fully well that he wanted for Qrow to be by him when this job went down. They were partners now, and whether they liked it or not, it was in his and Qrow's best interest if the two of them worked together. The fact that James had a soft spot for the guy had nothing to do with it.

Or, that was what he had to tell himself when he stared into Qrow's eyes for just that short moment.

"Yeah?" Qrow answered with a laugh. "How do you want me?"

Off to the side, there was a quiet snort, and James and Qrow both shot Roman a glare as the man did his best to try and hold back any laughter.

James rolls his eyes. "I want you and I to go into the fake delivery together." James finally said quietly. He closed his eyes and did his absolute best to school his expression into something that was unable to be read into too deeply. Something that was emotionless and couldn't be misread as anything else. "You and I work together out there. We do pretty well when the two of us go to work out there."

He shrugged. "Think you can pose as a pickup and delivery guy?"

Qrow shot James a look that wasn't exactly one that spoke to having absolute confidence, and James figured that at least on some level that was something that he should have expected. If he was suddenly being offered a job that he didn't have all that much experience with, James didn't know what he would have felt himself. But Qrow-

He was trying to keep his head up and make it feel like both of them were going to be fully ready for what was going to come up later on. "Sounds good to me, Jimmy." Qrow finally said, flashing James a somewhat confident smile. "I'll be able to do that."

James knew that when he smiled back at Qrow, his expression was perhaps a bit too soft, a bit more affectionate than it should have been allowed to be. He knew that there wasn't a chance that Junior and Roman hadn't picked up on that fact, but he tried not to think about it.

After all, if nobody brought up his and Qrow's... friendship- if that was what it could be called, then there wasn't anything that they needed to talk about. Besides, he was sure that Junior and Roman both respected them enough not to go bringing it up all the time.

"I'm glad." James finally said with a slight smile before looking back down at the map. "I'm going to have to talk to Ozpin and see what they're willing to get us to make sure that we get things done, but it'll have to wait." A pause. "At least, for just a little bit. Until I can get into contact with Ozpin and make an argument for how things are going to be done."

Roman stood up, and he slid into the space beside James so that he could get a better look at the map, for just a moment. James tried to pay him as little mind as possible. "Have you thought about how you're going to get Glynda and Winter in on this?"

James paused. That was one of those all-important questions that needed to be asked because James hadn't really thought about it all that much. He took a deep breath and tried to think.

"I haven't decided yet." He finally admitted. "I figured that if Glynda was going to be involved in this, she was going to end up being assigned by Ozpin." James swallowed, feeling a little bit bitter about that since he knew that he should have been thinking about that sort of thing. there was no way that they were going to be able to get by without Glynda.

At the very least, they were going to need Glynda, and they were going to need Ozpin's support. James had a feeling that those two things were going to need to come together in order for things to work.

As for Winter...

James didn't know that he wanted her there. No matter how much he thought about how to have her involved, James could never convince himself that it was a good idea to have here there. It was the one case where his emotional state in regard to Winter was just getting in the way.

She was like a daughter to him.

The absolute last thing that James wanted to do was end up endangering her in the name of the group or money. She deserved better than that sort of thing, and James had always tried very hard to make sure that he didn't end up making her life hell by accident.

"It'll get figured out." James finally said, his voice and expression equally right. "What I want for us to do is to be able to get away without getting caught or anyone getting hurt. We..." James looked at Roman, and had to push back the immense wave of guilt that seemed to run through his entire body as he tried to get his head together. This was the hardest part, without a doubt. "We might have to have people driving evasively."

A pause. James divorced himself from the situation so that he couldn't get to wound up in it mentally. "Whether we like it or not, that did work last time." A pause. "Regardless of what happened."

James blinked twice and had to struggle not to think about that too badly. There were too many ways that he could start getting bogged down in his own head over this sort of thing, and James didn't want that to be able to happen by any means. That wasn't what he wanted.

He definitely didn't want the way that something terrible seemed to begin to radiate out of his chest and towards his right shoulder when he thought about it too much. He swallowed hard and found himself reaching over and rubbing into the shoulder as gently as he could manage. He didn't want to make the injury too obvious, or the fact that he was beginning to feel some pain too obvious either.

Neither of those things would do.

But when he rubbed at his shoulder there was no give. there was no relief to be found there, and it just left James wondering what he was supposed to do that day. He closed his eyes and swallowed again, but nothing was there making him feel better about things.

He was positive that he was going to need a dose of painkillers to be able to get to sleep that night after this.

"James?" Roman spoke up, his voice hushed. "Is-"

"It's fine." James answered, hoping that it was going to be enough to push back his problems. "The point is," He dropped his hand away from his shoulder and focused in onto the map again. "We're going to do what we need to be able to make this all happen."

He took a deep breath and tried to relax as much as he could, despite everything that they were doing. "We're going to do what we can to make this work." James mumbled again, quietly. "We're going to be in touch on all of this, and there's still a lot that we need to be able to..." He swallowed quietly. "Decide."

Fighting back the wince that came up on his face was next to impossible. James shook his head and turned away from the others, deciding to go to one of the cabinets on the side of the room and just fiddling with an old photo that was on top of it. He closed his eyes and tried his hardest to relax.

"You're going to tell us when we have something new, right James?" Junior spoke up quietly. "Because if you're feeling tired..."

"It's..." James swallowed. "It's just phantom pain." He shook his head. Soon he was going to be able to go to bed, and he'd be able to take something that was going to be able to get his pain to go away and in theory he was going to be able to clear his head. But for now, he needed to stay up so that he could continue working. "It'll be fine."

"Will it?" Qrow answered quietly. "Because-"

"It's normal." James answered, deciding not to look over at the others even still. Whether they liked it or not, he needed something so that he could keep himself separate from what was happening. "If something comes up, we're going to deal with this one thing at a time. I'm... sure Ozpin will be dropping in sometime to talk."

Roman and Junior looked at each other, both wanting to say something but both deciding not to do so. This was their comfort.

"Look, James." Junior spoke up and stood up. "It's been nice, and you've honestly told us a lot that's going to help us out later on. We'll keep our mouths shut about what you're planning."

"You'll be in touch when we have a meeting coming up, right?" Roman asked as he pulled his jacket on.

"Of course." James replied, finally turning to face the others, though he didn't really have much that he wanted to say. "I'll let you know."

The two guests stopped, just outside of the door, and that was when he saw Junior looked back over at him with a smile on his face. "Hey, so Jim?"

"Yeah, Junior?"

"How much money are we talking on this one?"

James blinked and looked between the other three in the room before swallowing and shoving his hands down deep into his pockets. "We'll just say it's a lot."

Junior smiled, and followed Roman out of the room. James was sure to see Junior and Roman out of the house and watched silently as their car pulled out of the small parking lot that they had. He closed his eyes and just tried to relax.

He didn't even notice the fact that had walked up behind him at some point. He tried not to think about it too much, but there was a certain comfort in knowing that this was a night where he was going through such things and he wasn't going to be alone for it.

"C'mon." Qrow said quietly his voice staying hushed the entire bed. "You're not doing so hot. Want me to get you something so that you can rest easier?"

James turned and looked over at Qrow, who looked entirely too relaxed. There was a small part of James that wanted something from Qrow, to wrap himself up in the other man's arms and relish in his touch, even if it was going to be for a little while.

That wasn't something that he should have been feeling.

"Yeah," James answered finally, watching Qrow. He watched as Qrow opened his arms slightly, and James hesitated for just a moment before folding himself into Qrow's arms for just a moment. "It'd like that." James mumbled quietly. He rested his chin on top of Qrow's head and even let his eyes slip shut.

This was a touch unlike one that he'd ever felt with regard to Qrow. It was comfortable, and James couldn't help but relish in it for the little while that he was able to.

"Why don't you get to bed?" Qrow said quietly. "I'll bring you some water and your painkillers if you want?"

James blinked. That was something that he never would have expected to hear from the other man. That was something that he had never been able to take comfort in. "That sounds great." He mumbled finally. For a moment, he wanted to lean in and press a kiss to Qrow's cheek but stopped himself.

James just pulled himself away from the other man and made his way up to his bedroom.


	60. Subtle Intimacy

James was just beginning to get settled in for the night when he heard the sound of Qrow knocking on his bedroom door. He hesitated for a moment, adjusting the sleep shirt that he'd pulled on so that he wouldn't risk accidentally showing exactly where the seams on his prosthetics met his skin. He was sure that it wasn't going to be enough, but it was worth it to try anyways.

As it turned out, his theory was correct and James found that he wasn't able to hide the scarring. James grimaced and considered reaching for a sweater to hide it better when he heard the sound of Qrow knocking at the door again. No time then. James closed his eyes and steeled himself before dragging himself over to the door.

Slowly, James pulled the door open with his left hand, though it was a little bit uncomfortable to do that sort of thing, despite months of practice. James had never quite gotten used to using the other hand, but when his pain was spiking as badly as it was right now, James didn't want to end up exasperating it.

"Hey." Qrow greeted him. He was holding a couple of things with him, starting with a glass of cool water and a few bottles of pills. "I know that you wanted this stuff."

"Right." James smiled weakly and reached out to take his things but hesitated for a moment as he tried to figure out what he wanted to do. He swallowed hard and looked back into the room over his shoulder. "Do… you want to come in?"

That was probably a bad thing to ask, but James didn't want to come off as rude when Qrow had so kindly come up here with his things instead of making him deal with all of that himself. It ran the risk of coming off as a little bit too heavy handed.

But Qrow was always relaxed about things. And it would give James a chance to get past the fact that Qrow was _staring._

"Yeah." Qrow answered finally with a smile. "Sounds good."

James nodded and pushed the door open a little bit more before sliding out of the way and giving his bedroom a quick look over when he realized that it wasn't quite suited for hosting anyone, but that was fine.

It wasn't like James was looking to have visitors here normally, anyways. The only one who had joined him there in the course of the last few years had been Penny.

"I know that it's not much…"

Qrow didn't say anything though, as James took his seat on the edge of his bed and made himself comfortable there. He set the glass of water down on the small side table next to his bed and began opening the bottles of pills so that he could give himself a dose of painkillers before bed.

"It's nicer than anything I've ever been in." Qrow said, standing awkwardly off to the side with his hands down deep in his pockets. "It's nice." The man was purposely not looking at James now, and that wasn't something that James could ignore. "Of course, I sleep on a couch usually so I can't say much."

"Uh," James swallowed and took his medication, washing it down with a sip of water. "Do… you want to sit down?"

Qrow's eyes widened and he nodded, deciding to walk around to the other side of the bed so that James didn't have to move too much. There was a part of James that was glad for it, but there was something nagging at the back of his mind that told him that this wasn't what he wanted.

He couldn't get around the fact that the last person that had been in this bed with James besides Penny had been Laurel. It almost felt _wrong_ having someone else there, but he couldn't figure out why, especially after it had been so long since the divorce. Qrow didn't belong there, but having him present was comforting.

But as things stood, it was silent.

James took a deep breath and set down the bottle of medication before arranging himself more comfortably on the bed, even pulling his feet up onto it. He grimaced when he realized that Qrow was there when James didn't have anything to cover up the prosthetics other than his shirt and pants. Right. He'd been in a hurry.

"Thank you," James said finally. "For bringing me everything."

"It's no problem, James." Qrow said quietly as he sat there and crossed his legs underneath himself and settled in comfortably. "I uh… wasn't expecting this, let me tell you."

"It's…" James swallowed. "It's different, for sure." He closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat and made himself comfortable. "Thank you for everything today." He shrugged. "I couldn't have done most of the things I've done today if it wasn't for the fact that you were there."

Qrow blinked twice, and he looked almost like he was in some state of disbelief himself about what was going on. "Well, I was glad to be able to help you out, James." Qrow shrugged and settled in a bit more. "I got a good meal out of it, got to help out with work. Even having Junior and Roman around was pretty nice."

"Well," James mumbled. "We couldn't have done it without you."

There was that quiet filling the room again. Like there was something that they were both afraid to say or do, and neither of them wanted to be the first one to bring it to the table for discussion. James could think of a thousand things that it could have been, but mostly found himself folding his legs so that he laid his left one over his right foot.

If it was Qrow feeling awkward because of the prosthetics, James didn't know that it was a conversation that he could stomach having that night.

Although, with that hug earlier, James was sure that Qrow had probably noticed that things were different. After all, James couldn't think of any way that someone could have missed the fact that they were in the process of hugging someone that was half-metal.

But somehow, despite all of the stress that James had been feeling over letting Qrow know about all of his prosthetics, during that hug James had almost been able to forget about all of those worries and just relish in Qrow's embrace.

It had been a long time since he'd been hugged by anyone like that. Especially someone that wasn't Penny.

All at once James began to become acutely aware of how lonely he had become over the last year, and even longer before that. He'd started cutting people off a long time ago, James realized. And now that he was finally able to connect to someone again, it was hard.

But Qrow wasn't like most people, and that helped a lot. James could always take comfort in that fact.

Qrow was much better to him than he ever had to.

"So, uh, Jim?" Qrow asked quietly, his voice as craggy as ever. "Can I ask you something?"

Oh, there it was. This was going to be something bad, and James didn't know what he would even say to Qrow, depending on what he was asked. "Yeah." He answered finally. "What is it?"

"Do you usually…" Qrow paused. "Do you usually get pains like that?"

James paused. That was one of those things that he hadn't really ever talked to anyone about. They knew that he was in pain, but usually what Qrow was seeing him treat was just run of the mill pains that tended to run up and down down his entire body because of all of the replacements. The fact that he'd needed to have most of his spine and hip replaced put a lot of pressure on him unnecessarily.

But what he'd experienced earlier wasn't like that.

It was something else entirely. Something much worse, and much more worrying.

"Sometimes." James finally managed to admit, though he knew he sounded mostly bitter when he said it. "Usually it makes it hard to sleep, or ends up being a serious distraction in the long run of things." Almost absent mindedly, James found himself rolling his shoulder in the hopes that it was going to be enough to help ease away some of his pains. "I... try not to pay attention to it."

Qrow blinked and just made himself a little bit more comfortable where he was sitting. James almost wanted to tell him to make himself at home, but wondered if doing that would be going a little too far when it came to Qrow. "So what about every morning?"

There was a part of James that had to wonder why all of the questions about his pain all of a sudden. Maybe it was just Qrow wanting to try and connect with him. James had to wonder whether the possibility that he was asking questions that were a bit too personal had even occurred to Qrow or not.

"I uh…" James swallowed. He did want to talk about some of his problems, but had never found a good chance to talk about it or deal with it. "Is there a reason that you're asking about this?"

"Kind of." Qrow said quietly, shrugging. "I uh…" He swallowed. "Just worry about you, I guess."

"Oh." James leaned his head back against the headboard behind him. "Well, it's um…" He swallowed hard, trying to get rid of most of his stress and worry so that he was going to be able to actually answer Qrow's questions. "I had to have a hip replaced." James mumbled. "The prosthetics, they're rather… extensive. A lot of my spine-"

"Jim." Qrow placed a hand on top of James' right one and squeezed gently. All that James could think was that there was no way it was comfortable for Qrow. "You don't have to tell me anything that you don't want to share, you know that right?"

"I…" James paused. "I do want to tell someone though." He finally managed, his voice just above a whisper. "It's lonely, Qrow. There aren't people like me. I wish that there were people around me that understood but…" He shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut in hopes that he'd be able to hide some of what he was feeling and what he wanted to do. "There's not really anyone else."

He found himself gripping Qrow's hand a little bit tighter at that as those thoughts began to overtake him. For some reason, as long as he held onto the other man, he didn't run the risk of drowning in them.

"I'm sorry." Qrow whispered, just loud enough that James was able to hear it. James gave up and pat the bed at his side, and Qrow understood. He slid into place and rested his back against the headboard of James' bed and the two of them stared at the wall on the other side of the room silently. "I wish that-"

"It's fine." James mumbled, deciding that he didn't want to know what else Qrow was about to say to him. Not because he thought it would be bad, but because sympathy just wasn't what he wanted then. Mostly, what he wanted was some sort of feeling that said that he was connected to someone else while he was there. "Just…" He thought hard on his words, knowing that every syllable was going to have its own meaning. "Stay. Please."

Qrow was silent. It was such a heavy silence that it left James feel like he was being crushed by it, despite the fact that he knew that there really wasn't all that much that he had to be worried about then and there. He and Qrow were fine. They were both just doing their absolute best to navigate what could only be described as a difficult discussion.

And the thing was? James was sure that he and Qrow both understood that was what was going on. It put them in a comfortable position, and it meant that the two of them were able to just breathe for a little while.

The fact that they were alone, there in James' bed wasn't the major concern. The pain that James had was beginning to drift away and he was starting to feel a little more than just drowsy, but he didn't want to sleep. Qrow was there, he was real, and he was tangible.

It left James with a certain sort of knot built up in his stomach that he didn't quite know how to deal with.

"Qrow?" he whispered his friend's man after sitting there for several minutes, shoulder to shoulder and side by side like that, with their fingers entwined. "Can I…" He swallowed. "Can I ask you something?"

Qrow blinked and picked his head up. It looked like he had started getting pretty drowsy himself, James realized. In theory, he was going to have to kick Qrow out of his bed pretty soon.

James tried not to think about the words in theory and what they meant in that moment. That wasn't something that he wanted to be dealing with in that moment. He didn't really know what he wanted, and James knew that probably couldn't have possibly been any more evident than it already was.

"Yeah." Qrow answered. "Shoot."

Here it was. Here was his chance.

"Earlier," James started, trying not to let every syllable feel so heavy on his lips that it couldn't be uttered. "When we… hugged."

"What about it?"

"Did you-" James swallowed visibly. "You felt how far they go, didn't you?"

"Yeah." Qrow mumbled, looking away from James. "I did."

Truthfully, that was exactly what James hadn't wanted to hear from Qrow, but he also knew that he didn't want to make it seem like Qrow knowing had him feeling so upset. He just closed his eyes and tried to hold back the thousands of emotions that were beginning to swim in his head and fill him up. James couldn't deal with this.

But he needed to say something to Qrow. He needed to at least try to say something.

"And?"

"And I don't care."

Somehow those words managed to leave James feeling like his heart had stopped in his chest. Like he couldn't breathe. Those words somehow managed to be absolutely heaven-sent, and James was left unsure of what he could even say to Qrow anymore.

So he acted on the only thing that he wanted to do.

James shifted in his seat and pressed himself in towards Qrow, reaching out with his right arm to pull him in. His arm wrapped around Qrow's waist, and he was glad when Qrow just relaxed into his touch and leaned in towards him.

"Hey." Qrow mumbled, cuddling in against James as much as he dared. James didn't say anything, just pulled him in even closer. After all, Qrow knew now. If anything, that meant that James had less to lose if he wanted to be closer to someone. He had no intentions in his mind other than some closeness to Qrow.

That was all that he wanted at that point.

"Hi." James whispered back to Qrow, dipping his head just slightly so that he could bury his face in the crook of Qrow's neck because there was going to be some comfort there. Qrow didn't say anything, just picked a hand up to gently place it on the back of James' head.

"I really don't care, Jim." Qrow said quietly in an attempt to reassure James. "You've been through hell, but you're still here."

James swallowed and closed his eyes before gently tightening his grip on Qrow. "Thank you."

"You want me to stay here tonight?"

That question was enough to make James paused. He knew that he should have pulled himself away from the smaller man, but he couldn't quite make himself do that. He was too comfortable that way. Qrow had somehow managed to give him something that James had needed to hear for a long time in only a few words.

But James knew that he had to give an answer at some point.

No matter what, Qrow was going to end up being there in his home when he got up in the morning, and it seemed like it was just a question of where he would wake up in the morning. Either it could be in James' bed, or it could be in the guest room a room away from him.

"Let me think about it?" James asked, keeping his voice low. "Because I want to say yes, but..."

"Right." Qrow answered. "I get it, Jim." He shrugged. "You still probably don't want to deal with the... well, whole thing."

"It's… complicated." James mumbled as he pulled himself away from Qrow because there wasn't much need for the two of them to be so close together. The only reason that it had ended up with them so close at all had been because James had gotten emotional.

And while he didn't want to pull away from Qrow, and separate the two of them physically again, James knew that it was for the best that he did.

"Yeah, is it?" Qrow answered, sitting up now and crossing his legs under him as he turned to face James a bit more directly. James just settled back against the headboards like he had been sitting earlier on, since that was going to be a much less frustrating way to sit than any other way.

"Yeah." James swallowed and stared forward at the wall, not wanting for the two of them to get too close together at that point. "Still a lot of things to figure out."

"I dunno," Qrow said absentmindedly. "You seem to be figuring things out well enough." He shrugged. "I mean, between the fact that you have me over here all the time, the cuddling, the kisses…"

"It's…" James paused. "Complicated." He took a deep breath before letting himself continue with what he needed to say. "It's not like this is just about me. I'm going to be leaving the…" A pause. "Well, work soon, and I have a daughter to put at a priority over everything else."

"And?"

"And what I'm saying is that unless she approves and seems happy with a situation, I'm not going to be pursuing anything." James sighed heavily. "And that's not even considering…"

"Right." Qrow shifted awkwardly in his seat. "You're leaving. Of course." He seemed to stare down at his hands for a solid minute or two, like he was just as afraid to breach certain topics as James was. James couldn't blame him for that at all.

The truth was that he was just as afraid.

"Exactly." James finally managed to say after a long wait. "Qrow, if you want you can…" He swallowed. "I… I don't think that I would mind it that much if you decided to stay here with me tonight."

Qrow blinked and his mouth dropped open just slightly as he comprehended what James was saying. This had to be just as awkward for Qrow as it was for James, but that wasn't a reason for James to stop. "I mean, " He swallowed hard, and stared down at his hands in front of him. "You don't have to if you don't want to-"

"I want to, Jim." Qrow responded calmly. "I just wasn't expecting for you to be on board with things is all."

That ended up being all of the encouragement that James could have possibly needed. He leaned in towards Qrow and lifted on hand up to gently cup the side of the man's cheek before pressing an almost shaky, too-soft kiss to his lips that seemed to linger for much longer than it needed to, if only because neither of them wanted to break it.

But they had to separate away from each other eventually, and when they did, it was Qrow pulling away from James. They didn't pull away completely, and might as well have just been sitting there with their foreheads pressed together and eyes half-lidded.

James swallowed hard. "You should go get ready for bed." He whispered, and Qrow nodded. James took a deep breath and found himself just watching as Qrow climbed out of his bed and went off to get into whatever it was that Qrow wore to bed.

That left him alone, for just a little bit. In some ways, it was something that James felt like he needed. He looked around the room and thought hard about how he was supposed to do this. It had been years since he'd shared a bed with anyone, and now that it was happening, there was a certain nervousness about it.

This was just keeping someone close to him for a night.

Nothing more.

He climbed out of the bed and looked around the room and began to just fix and re-arranged the bed so that it at least looked ready for someone else there. The fact of the matter was that it wasn't even that messy, but James just felt like it was something that he needed to do.

When Qrow returned, dressed in his low-slung pajama pants and an old shirt that James would have guessed belonged to Taiyang on account of its size, James was in the process of pulling the blankets back into place.

"Hey." Qrow greeted him before walking around to the other side of the bed from where James was. "You uh..."

"I felt like I had to." James answered before seating himself on the bed. "Make yourself comfortable."

Qrow nodded and seated himself on the bed next to James, sliding his way under the blankets that James has just finished re-arranging. He seemed to sink right into the mattress, and that was something that James was more than glad for as he made himself comfortable beside Qrow. James knew that he was probably a little more awkward than he could have been.

"Nice bed." Qrow commented as he flopped down into place. "Better than the guest bed."

"Well," James replied as he laid down himself and settled in. He had to take a moment to arrange himself comfortably as he could manage, since the prosthetics could make it difficult sometimes. The fact that Qrow was going to be lying on his right side was also a concern, but the good thing was that Qrow not only knew, but he also didn't care about it. "I had to get a better bed after..."

"Right." Qrow said quietly. "That makes sense." He turned so that he was lying on his side and faced James. "How do you feel?"

James let out a heavy sigh, thinking that question over. He didn't want to admit to the nervousness that felt like it clung to his entire body, especially now. He figured that Qrow was probably asking him about how his prosthetics and his pain were, and to that the answer was easy.

"Numb, mostly." James finally answered. "Tired."

"Painkillers?"

"Yeah." James mumbled, reaching over and turning off the light beside his bed. "It's fine." He pulled the blanket up over himself for a moment and tried to make himself feel a bit better. Slowly, James closed his eyes in hopes that it was going to be enough to help him finally drift off. "Thank you again for everything."

James didn't feel Qrow shift in the bed next to him, and he was partially glad for that. It helped him separate himself away from the reality of the situation where he was sleeping in the same bed as another person his age for the first time since he was married. Sure, he'd left Penny sleep here with him a few times when she had nightmares, but it wasn't the same thing.

This was intimate.

"It's really no problem Jim." Qrow said, his voice dropping in volume pretty significantly before there was a pause. "Do you have an alarm?"

That actually made James shift and try to get up since he knew that it was something that he probably should have thought about earlier. He shifted and turned towards his bedside table, finding his alarm clock and turning it off, since it wasn't like they had anywhere to be in the morning.

"Not anymore." James mumbled before settling back down into the bed beside Qrow. "That good?"

"Yeah." Qrow answered.

After that, they didn't talk all that much, because neither of them wanted to keep the other from sleeping. James didn't know how long he laid there awake, unaware of what was going on between himself and Qrow. Eventually sleep came, but it was the sort of uneasy thing. He tried relax, but it was difficult.

Every time that Qrow would shift, that would almost be enough to jar James back into a place of alertness.

But eventually James was able to relax and let his medication take him away into a world of sleep, where nothing could bother him, and if he awoke with nightmares about gunfights and car crashes, he wasn't going to be completely alone to experience it.

James couldn't have been more thankful for the fact that those things never came along. When he ended up with Qrow's body pressed in against his right side, James didn't find himself reacting to it through the haze of exhaustion and medication.

In the end, it was the most comfortable sleep that James had experienced in his entire life.


	61. Rude Awakenings

Qrow woke up in a bed that wasn't his own, with James pressed in against him and sleeping just as quietly and as comfortably as he was. He hummed quietly and let his eyes flick closed, since he was sure that James was probably going to wake up soon anyways. No need to pull himself out of bed just yet, although being awake wasn't such a bad idea.

With the back of his right hand, Qrow rubbed at his eyes as he tried to rouse himself.

The sound of James shifting and rolling beside him in an attempt to make himself feel more comfortable made Qrow just gently reach down to his waist, where he'd ended up with James' prosthetic arm draped across him. It was a pleasant weight, one that made him feel so much more at home than he would have otherwise.

The two of them had shared a bed, and if Qrow's past experiences with waking up in other people's beds was any suggestion, this should have gone poorly. But instead, he felt rested, and James…

Well, he looked much more comfortable than Qrow had expected.

Qrow was distantly aware of the fact that James was going to need to get up soon as well, and that when that happened, he was probably going to be in pain and in need of his medication. The least that he could do was get up and try to find a way that he could make it easier on James. Maybe he could even start the morning by making a pot of coffee so that James could immediately get started on his morning routine.

But Qrow laid there in bed with James for as long as he could manage before a familiar discomfort in his bladder forced him to get up and untangle himself from James' arms and blankets. It wasn't as though he wanted to have to get up for that purpose, but it was a matter of knowing that there were going to be ways to make things easier that morning than most days.

At least, this was the first morning where Qrow felt like he had the actual _right_ to help. Before there had always been a need for separation, but today it was just different. Having spent a night in James' bed somehow changed things, despite the fact that there was no reason to think that it had.

Or maybe things had changed, and Qrow was taking a bit longer to process it than he would have normally needed. Qrow figured that was a possibility, if nothing else. It would probably end up depending on what James felt.

Qrow relieved himself and began on the way down to the kitchen where he knew he was going to be able to start on coffee. Qrow was only halfway down the stairs when he realized that there was something _wrong_. Namely, it was the fact that he could smell hot coffee when he knew for a fact that neither he nor James had gotten up yet that morning.

There hadn't been anyone else there the night before.

Qrow wanted to stop himself and go up to wake James, in the hopes that it would get him an easier way to deal with this, but decided against it. The last thing that James needed was stress when he was already just about guaranteed to be in pain when he woke up.

This was _very_ bad.

One of the steps creaked beneath him, and that was when Qrow knew that he was going to be noticed.

"James?" A voice called from the kitchen. Qrow froze when he realized that it was Ozpin's voice coming from the kitchen.

Ozpin.

What were they doing there in James' kitchen?

Qrow swallowed hard and steeled himself, before coming down the rest of the way and making the turn into the kitchen where Ozpin was sitting, a mug of coffee in hand and a tablet in front of them. Ozpin picked their head up and tilted their head slightly at the sight of Qrow.

"Nah." Qrow responded, staying by the entrance to the kitchen. "He's still sleeping."

"Well, that won't do." Ozpin responded, setting their mug of coffee down. "I need to speak with him."

"Well, he's sleeping." Qrow responded, making his way into the kitchen finally and not letting his gaze leave Ozpin for a second. He was inevitably going to have to make sure that James knew about Ozpin before he came down for the morning. that was going to go poorly, and Qrow didn't look forward to it for a second.

"That's a shame." Ozpin commented, looking back down to their tablet. "It is rather time-critical." There was a pause, and then Ozpin looked back up at Qrow, peering at him over a pair of too-small glasses and with their expression so schooled that it was nothing more than unsettling. "And how do you know that James is still sleeping?"

Qrow's narrowed, since that was a question that he not only _really_ didn't want to answer, but also because it was worded in a way that he couldn't quite get past. There was something about it that felt distinctly too prying, and Ozpin didn't have the rapport with him and James to be able to get away with asking. "I know because he isn't up yet." Qrow finally responded as he poured himself a mug of coffee. 'What are you doing here?"

Ozpin smiled slightly, but it didn't seem like a genuine sort of smile at all. Like they were doing their best to pick layer after layer of skin off of Qrow in search of something that possibly didn't exist. "I already told you what I'm doing here." Ozpin mumbled into their mug of coffee. "I need to speak to James."

"Well, you're out of luck if that's really what you want, pal." Qrow responded as he went to the fridge so that he could get the bottle of cream that James and him had bought a few days ago when they were getting their groceries. "Because James is sleeping and I don't know when he's going to be up."

Another pause as the two of them tried to figure out what to do. "I suppose you could go and wake him?"

"Really would rather not." Qrow replied as he began to prepare his mug of coffee the way that he liked it. "If either of us is going to deal with him first thing in the morning before he's deal with things, it's going to be _you_."

"You say that rather confidently."

"Yeah," Qrow almost found himself growling as he leaned in towards the counter so that there was space between them. "I do." He paused, thinking hard on his next course of action that he could take. "What do you want from Jim anyways?"

"Me?" Ozpin commented. "I just need his cooperation to be able to make this next job go well." There was a long pause, and then Ozpin seemed to zero in on Qrow entirely. "Though, I wonder," They smiled again. "You seem like you want something from me."

Qrow hated that smile. He hated the way that it made him want to crawl out of his own skin, or run and hide in a place where Ozpin could never find him. If he'd known that _this_ was the person that he would end up working so closely with, Qrow was sure that he never would have even made the choice to stick around and do jobs for them. But when he'd been chosen up for this line of work, it had been different.

He'd been desperate, and he'd been picked out by someone that he would end up seeing regularly instead of someone like Ozpin that had no interested in showing their fact around the group until very recently.

So he had to think about Ozpin's question. Was there something in particular that he wanted from them or not? All he wanted to do was get this new job done, and walk away from it with a paycheck, and if James was going to leave...

Qrow didn't know what came after that. The chance to just leave behind James was real, especially when he'd been offered a stable job by Junior, who seemed like he was absolutely dead serious about that particular offer.

"I dunno that there is," Qrow finally said to Ozpin quietly. "I've been thinking about it, and I don't know what you can really offer me beyond my cut."

"Well, I suppose that's true." Ozpin said quietly as they stirred their drink absent-mindedly. "Tell me Qrow, where are you living these days?"

"Vale." Qrow gave his answer immediately, not letting himself think about the implications of the fact that he'd been living in James' house on and off for a little while now. At the end of the day, he called Taiyang and Summer's house home, not James' house. "With some family."

Ozpin paused. "With family you say?'

"Yeah." Qrow answered as clearly as he could, suffocating the emotional part of him that insisted very loudly that mentioning family with Ozpin was an exceptionally bad idea on his part.

"Is it a big family?" Ozpin set their spoon down next to their mug of coffee and just looked up from it to watch Qrow in a manner that Qrow would have even considered to be predatory in a way. "Or is it just you and... your parents, perhaps? A sibling?"

"No." Qrow replied. "My brother-in-law and his family." His eyes narrowed and Qrow leaned in halfway across the table so that he could possibly make himself a little bit more imposing, despite the fact that Ozpin was not only taller than him, but also broader as well. It was times like this that made Qrow really hate the fact that he was small compared to most. "And if you come near them, I don't even _care_ what you do or who you know, I will fight to keep them as safe as possible."

Ozpin stared across at him and didn't seem to react to what Qrow had said at all, which wasn't encouraging at all. It just left Qrow nervous, because he knew that there wasn't much that he could do to make himself seem scarier to Ozpin. After all, he was pretty sure that Ozpin had been through much more than he had ever been through, and was probably immune to intimidation at that point.

But that didn't mean that Qrow wasn't going to try to scare Ozpin away.

"I don't believe that you're in a position to be making threats."

"Yeah, well let's look at it this way." Qrow's eyes narrowed and he balled his hands into fists in front of him. "I'm dealing with someone that doesn't hesitate to break into a guy's home while he's sleeping just so that they can talk to him when he gets up. How can I trust that you won't be coming and doing the same?"

Ozpin blinked and let out a heavy sigh. They reached up to their glasses and pulled them off of their face before setting them down on the counter in front of them and staring up at Qrow with dark hazel eyes that almost seemed to look like they belonged to a human. "It's a simple matter, Qrow." Ozpin answered finally. "You and your family don't have much of anything to offer me, and so I'm not interested."

"That's-"

"I'm here for James because there is nobody else in this organization that can do what I need for him to be able to do, do you understand?" Ozpin paused, seemingly weighing their words because if they said the wrong thing, the chance was very real that the tension would get worse and worse until the two of them got involved in a fistfight that Qrow wasn't sure he was able to win.

"Explain that." Qrow answered, leaning back just slightly. "What can't anyone else do?"

"Nothing." Ozpin mumbled. "This is simply a matter of the fact that James has more to gain from this job than anyone else." They paused, humming quietly and calmly. "And my initial pursuit of him in person came from the fact that his loyalty was in question."

 _Shit_ , Qrow thought to himself. That made too much sense, especially considering everything that he knew about how Ozpin and James' first in-person meeting had gone. And now that he was finally seeing Ozpin face-to-face, one-on-one it changed things. Ozpin made him feel like he was less important than the smallest speck of dust, or like he didn't matter at all in the grand scheme of things and the truth of the matter was that to Ozpin, Qrow was sure he didn't matter.

He was just another pawn.

Just like James had been, seeing as he was more like a promoted chess piece on a board these days. He was a pawn made important, and now because of that…

James was more likely to fail.

The thought sent a shiver up Qrow's spine that he wasn't quite able to suppress. He was sure that Ozpin noticed it too.

"Is something the matter?"

"Yeah." Qrow swallowed. "A lot of things are."

"Hm." Ozpin sipped their coffee again before speaking up. "Well, I suppose you should figure those things out." Another pause. "Do you know when James should be up?"

"He'll be up when he's up."

Qrow watched Ozpin's face for anything that could tip him off as to what they were thinking or planning. All that he got that could help him divine anything about what was going through Ozpin's head was the absolute slightest quirk of the lips. Whether or not that was them trying to turn into a smile or not was something that Qrow couldn't quite figure out.

But that didn't matter.

There was a game being played, and it seemed like it was the type of thing to have several meanings and possible outcomes. Qrow didn't know whether or not there was going to be a good outcome for him from all of this.

"Yes," Ozpin commented finally, leaning back away from Qrow and seeming to relax for just a moment. "But of course."

Upstairs, Qrow could hear the sound of someone moving around, the first sign that James had finally gotten up that morning, even if it sounded like his movements and actions were taking a while. He closed his eyes and tried not to listen to those uneven footfalls too closely, and instead just decided to pour an extra mug of coffee.

Ozpin could deal with James when James was tired and cranky, Qrow sure as hell didn't want to have to do it.

Not that he wanted to deal with Ozpin either.


	62. Recklessness

James woke up in bed alone, and he couldn't quite place why it felt almost upsetting. He knew for a fact that he hadn't gone to sleep alone, since he'd laid there awake with Qrow curled up there beside him for what felt almost like an eternity though James was sure it couldn't have been any longer than an hour.

The space on the bed where Qrow had been was still warm, and James had to force himself to sit up despite the pain that shot up his spine with the motion. He swallowed hard, squeezed his eyes shut, and tried not to focus on it too much. He needed to get up, if Qrow was already up.

After all, he was going to need to eat and make sure that both of them were taken care of. Qrow was a guest and he needed to be treated as one.

But there was one saving grace, James realized through the fog of his mind when he saw the bottles of medicine, still sitting on the bedside table beside him from where Qrow had left them the night before.

James couldn't help but smile just slightly, as he twisted his body and turned in an attempt to get ahold of his medicine so that he'd be able to take a few pills. In theory, once they kicked in, he was going to have a bit easier of a morning. Already having them right there lessened quite a bit of the strain that would come with the morning.

So James uncapped the bottle of pills and swallowed a few tablets dry before relaxing back into his bed while he waited for the painkillers to take their effect before he finally got up so that he could go down and finally deal with everything.

He must have sat there for a few minutes, just scrolling through news from the night before on his phone before he finally felt like he was well enough that he could brave the stairs for the morning.

All at once, James hauled himself to his feet and checked that he had his clothes were covering most of himself before finally heading down to the kitchen. It wasn't as though Qrow didn't know about how he was, but habit ultimately prevailed when it came to James' modesty.

He must have frozen completely still the first time that he heard the sound of Qrow's voice, followed closely by Ozpin's.

Of all the things that he could end up getting stuck with having to handle that morning, why did _this_ have to be on the list? Maybe if he asked nicely enough he wouldn't have to deal with Ozpin so early in the morning, especially considering that he hadn't had his coffee yet and his mind was a little more than just foggy as a result of his painkillers.

However, James knew for a fact that if Ozpin was there they had come uninvited, and that was something that he definitely wasn't glad to think about. Perhaps he would be wrong, but James had his doubts. Ozpin had only ever worked in patterns before, and their pattern seemed to be a series of home invasions.

Swallowing hard, James made his way down the rest of the stairs before taking the turn into the kitchen, where Ozpin was sitting at the counter while Qrow stood on the other side of the counter across from them, nursing a steaming mug of coffee and glaring daggers in Ozpin's direction.

Both of them picked their heads up almost immediately upon his entrance and watched as James approached before pulling back one of the higher seats at the counter and sliding into it.

Qrow didn't say anything, just slid a mug of coffee across to James without a word.

Oh, how Qrow was making his life easier that morning without even realizing what he was doing. James was beyond glad for that face, and he wasn't going to deny it. Qrow was beyond good to him most days.

This morning, he may have been a lifesaver.

James picked up the mug of coffee and drank from it, letting his eyes slip shut and letting the warmth from the drink work down into his muscles and bones and just provide him with some relief. He didn't want to talk just yet. For now, he just needed to be able to relax and get the pain to go away if he was going to be happy.

Of course, it wasn't going to last forever.

"Want something to eat?" Qrow spoke up with a very slight shrug of the shoulders. "Toast?"

"Toast would be wonderful." James answered, giving the man a weak smile to let him know that things were going to be alright that day. "Thank you."

"No problem." Qrow replied. James watched him, and he didn't miss the way that Qrow shot another glare in the currently silent Ozpin's direction.

James would get to them soon enough.

The fact that Ozpin hadn't said a word left James wondering whether or not they had realized that he might need a little bit of time to be able to collect himself before getting involved in things. That was a relief, at least. However, that didn't change the fact that James was willing to bet money on Ozpin having broken in that morning.

James took a deep breath and just rested his elbows on the counter in front of him, leaning into them so that he could take some pressure off of his spine.

But Qrow put himself to work, fixing James a few slices of toast and even covering them with some strawberry jam once they were done cooking. He slid those over in James' direction, and James picked up the first slice to take a bite of it.

"I suspect you slept okay?" Ozpin spoke up finally, giving James a look that he didn't quite want to place.

"Yes," James answered, setting the slice of toast down on the plate in front of him. "Rather well."

"I see." Ozpin commented. "And I suppose you are wondering why I'm here?"

With a heavy sigh James closed his eyes and tried to relax into his seat as much as he could, though it didn't bring him much relief just yet. "I'm more wondering how you got in here." His eyes flickered over to Qrow, who looked frustrated by everything, and then back to Ozpin. "Should I assume this is another home invasion, or would that be incorrect?"

Ozpin watched him, hesitating for just a moment before finally speaking up for themself on the whole thing. "Well," They began, "I should let you know that your security system is in dire need of some upgrades."

James shot Ozpin a glare, since he wasn't a fan of having his home being invaded on any day. "Yes, well." James muttered. "I won't lie and say that I haven't been considering moving strongly since..." A pause. James tore his eyes away from Ozpin and stared down into his coffee, black as midnight on a moonless night. "Since you first came here."

"I do truly apologize for the circumstances." Ozpin said quietly. "I hadn't known that you would be with your daughter."

"Doesn't matter." James grumbled, knowing that his absolute lack of amusement had to be showing rather clearly. Of course it did matter, but it wasn't the moment's concern. "Why are you here _now_?"

"I needed to speak to you." Ozpin sipped their coffee, watching James over the rim of their mug the entire time. "I suppose I came here a bit early in the morning, didn't I."

James looked over at Qrow before ripping his eyes away since he didn't want that to be read into at all by Ozpin. He didn't need anyone speculating on what was going on between him and Qrow in any circumstance.

Now, when he was tired and his mind was hazy was one of the circumstances where he didn't need that more than anything else.

"Yes," James mumbled. "One could certainly say that."

He had to fight not to betray anything about how he was still feeling so stiff and uncomfortable that morning, despite the fact that he had his painkillers to rely on to help him hold things together. James was tired, and in that state he could think of few things that were less welcome than Ozpin invading his home.

But that was what he had to deal with, and so James was going to do his absolute best that he could do to work through things. For a moment he remembered the conversation the night before with Junior and Roman, and all the planning that they'd done. Those were all topics that were going to need to be breached, and James was willing to bet money that Ozpin was coming with things to talk about themself.

James didn't know what they could be, but it was certainly something that James was going to need to be aware of.

"Well," Ozpin spoke up, breaking James out of his thoughts. "I suppose i should apologize for that."

James blinked and just stared at Ozpin in some disbelief before speaking up. "You broke into my home, Ozpin," James said as calmly as he could manage. "I can assure you that it won't be enough."

Ozpin blinked and leaned back in their seat beside James, and when James looked over at Qrow, he looked just as unsure about the situation as James felt. That was a small comfort, he supposed. It meant that he could feel a little bit less alone with all things considered.

"I wanted to discuss work with you." Ozpin finally drained the last of their coffee, and James couldn't help but wonder both how long they had been there, but also how much coffee they had consumed. The last thing that he wanted to do was to have to go out and buy coffee, especially when he'd spent a lot of the day before sending Qrow to the grocery store for him.

But James sat up, leaned back in his seat, and thought hard on what he was going to have to talk to Ozpin about. He let out a far too heavy sigh and turned his eyes onto Ozpin more directly. "Was there anything specific that you wanted to speak to me about?"

"Yes, in fact." Ozpin smiled slightly. "I wanted to discuss armaments for the job."

Those words were enough to make James nearly choke on his coffee since Ozpin had brought something to the table that he hadn't considered yet and hadn't wanted to consider. If Opzin was bringing that sort of thing to the table, then that meant that they were expecting some sort of trouble.

"Armaments." James deadpanned, setting his mug of coffee down and letting his eyes flicker over to Qrow, who wasn't looking the most comfortable with the situation at hand himself. They both knew what this meant, it seemed. James didn't like it, since this was always the last thing that he wanted to deal with.

Of course, he always went into jobs armed just in case he ended up needing them, but usually he kept his gun either unloaded or stored very safely out of reach. He never trusted that things wouldn't go wrong, but he couldn't bring himself to use a weapon on another person again. He sucked in a deep breath through his nose and tried not to grimace too much.

"Yes," Ozpin answered. "Of course, you all have your guns, but I wanted to see to it that the vehicles are able to be destroyed, and of course.." They shrugged. "My hopes was that we could do some significant damage to the bank itself."

"So you just want to do the same thing as usual?" Qrow spoke up, leaning in and his eyes narrowing as he stared Ozpin down. "I don't see anything wrong with that."

"I do." James grumbled, watching Ozpin closely. "What time of day were you planning this robbery for?"

"Mid afternoon." Ozpin answered. "Unless you disagree?"

James watched Qrow's expressions out of the corner of his eye. He knew fully well that this was the sort of job that wasn't going to be able to be done come nightfall, and it seemed like Qrow was realizing what exactly they were going to be dealing with and doing soon. He knew.

"So..." Qrow swallowed. "We're talking about taking a bank during the day."

"Yes."

Qrow looked over at James. "What about-"

"It would be daylight hours regardless." James replied. "Much more dangerous than anything that we've done in a very long time." Across the counter, Qrow shifted uneasily, clearly not wanting to talk about or deal with this anymore. James remembered his first time hearing that they were going to do this sort of thing himself.

It still didn't sit easily with him.

James swallowed hard and tried to find a way to deal with this as directly as possible. Ozpin didn't know what he had brought up as a possibility for how they were going to do things, and while James did expect some clashes, the least he could do was try to make sure that their arguments on the topic didn't go too far or too deep.

Ozpin raised an eyebrow, having realized that there was something afoot that they didn't know about and focused their eyes onto James. "What is he talking about?"

"The job." James answered, as plainly as he could manage. "I thought of an alternate route that we could take to execute it with as little bloodshed as possible." He set his mug of coffee down, pursing his lips as he did so. "It may be difficult to arrange though."

"Tell me about this plan." Ozpin snapped the words out so quickly that James didn't really even get a chance to pause and collect himself.

"I was looking at the possibility of us getting ahold of a cash delivery truck." James began to explain himself. "If we show up looking and acting like the real thing when the real delivery was meant to arrive, it gives us both a way into the vault that'll keep people from paying attention to us, and it'll also mean that we get a clean way in and out of the bank."

"I see." Ozpin answered. "And do you intend to use the van for the entire job?"

"That was one of the questions on the table, yes." James said with an all too heavy sigh. "While the plan certainly gets us in, once it's realized that there's something wrong, there's bound to be a chase for us."

"So your getaway?"

This was the part that James hadn't wanted to talk about or think about. It was the thing that had thrown him off so badly the night before, it was the thing that they all had to be worried about and even afraid of, especially the ones who knew how things had gone the last time that they'd done this sort of thing. Even Qrow was afraid, and with good reason.

"We mimic last time." James mumbled. "A van's too noticeable for a long getaway, we'd be bound to get caught."

Ozpin leaned in, eyes narrowed in a way that was almost intense enough that it made James want to shrink back into nothingness. He hated those eyes, James decided. There was a coldness in them that never seemed to shake away and it scared him. The person that they were attached to scared him.

Not that he could show the others that fact, but oh, how he feared Ozpin.

"It seems to me that you haven't examined every angle of this, James.' Ozpin spoke up finally, straightening up and seeming to relax all at once. "As things stand, I believe you are the one that's doomed to fail."

"Well," James began his rebuttal. "We can't just go in on this job immediately and I think that all of us know that fact. We can't pretend that this isn't going to have a lot of strings that need to be pulled, and that there won't be anything at risk if we don't take the proper amount of time to get every single thing in line."

Ozpin stared James down. "Having everything in line won't prevent another disaster, James."

James froze solid where he was standing. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He couldn't tell whether or not he was being accused of some sort of paranoia on account of the fact that he was trying to take a line of actions that would hopefully have been enough to protect most of them. He swallowed hard. "Get out."

"James," Ozpin replied. "We wouldn't want to do anything rash."

"Which is what I'm trying to stop from happening," James growled, standing up partially so that he could make himself more physically imposing than Ozpin. It almost reminded him of their first meeting in person, and the power struggle that had emerged there. "What happened was a freak accident and you know it just as well as I."

Ozpin cocked an eyebrow. "Do I?"

Silence settled in the room, deafening and impossibly heavy. So heavy that it was enough to make James feel like he was about to drown or be crushed. He needed to run, his heart was pounding so hard against his chest that it felt like it was the only thing that he was going to be able to hear or feel for a while.

Those words sounded like a gunshot. They felt like a gunshot. James felt a little bit more than just overwhelmed by Ozpin's words, and the look on their face was enough to leave James feeling more than just a bit unsure of what he wanted to do anymore. Once again, his trust was left to waver and James couldn't figure out what to make of it.

He stood up properly and took a step away from the counter, from Qrow, from Ozpin. James needed that space, he needed to be able to work through some things on his own in order to be able to deal with things.

"You better not be implying what I think you are."

Ozpin paused and raised from their seat. "I just want copies of whatever it is that you're working on, and then I'll be on my way."

James grit his teeth. "They're in my office."

Ozpin nodded and got up, making their way back to James' office. James squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath before making his way back to where Ozpin was, if for no reason other than to be able to keep an eye on them and make sure that they weren't getting into things that they shouldn't have been.

He stood by and watched as Ozpin went over paperwork, and the two of them talked things over one by one as they came up. Between the two of them they were able to make something that would be workable, and Ozpin left James' home with only a date for a meeting as a goodbye.

It wasn't much, but it was something. It meant that he had to finish preparing things on his own.

It left James feeling beyond worried.


	63. The Food Court

"Thanks for coming along with me for this." Qrow muttered as he and James walked through the Atlas City Mall. Since they'd gotten there neither had said all that much about what they were doing that day. Qrow suspected that anxiety had a lot to do with it, but it wasn't really something that could be helped that much.

Long story short, he'd needed a chance to be able to go out and make sure that he could get birthday presents for Yang, and James had a car and so he ended up feeling a little bit roped into things. Otherwise, it was the two of them just spending time together as normally.

But that wasn't true at all, Qrow knew. The real kicker was that Qrow had gotten Raven to agree to meet them there, and so he and James were on the way to the food court where the beginning of their meeting had been arranged. Qrow was nervous about what was going to happen, for a lot of reasons, and he didn't want to say why. Having James there was part of it, but mostly, it was just the fact that seeing Raven was always hard.

"It's really no problem." James deadpanned, checking something on his phone and keeping his eyes down. It left Qrow a little bit worried, if only because ever since they'd arrived at the mall, James had been staying a little too quiet, and had seemed a little bit nervous about the whole thing. He couldn't help but wonder whether it had been a while since James had been somewhere so crowded. After all, the banquet at Salem Group headquarters had been exclusive, and James seemed to like going shopping early in the morning for a reason.

Qrow didn't like that extra concern, but this was a situation that they weren't going to be able to take care of things. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "She said that she wanted to meet us near the place with the shitty Chinese food."

"How very specific." James grumbled before bringing himself back to the topic at hand. "You mean that she wanted to meet you there?" James asked, sighing a bit too heavily and hiding his phone back away. "You don't have to act like I'm really a part of this."

Qrow swallowed hard, feeling a little bit guilt over what was going on, but not wanting to go ahead and acknowledge that he hadn't really brought James' presence up to Raven. He was more than sure that once she saw him, she was going to either bolt or she was going to get prickly. Whichever thing ended up happening, Qrow was sure that he was going to be fine with it.

He was used to Raven's behaviors, after all. James wasn't, but the guy wasn't just smart, he was pretty strong when he needed to be. Qrow was certain that James could manage.

"I want you to be there." Qrow said as quietly as he could manage without getting too caught up in what was going on. "She's either going to like you and run, or she's going to get angry and I'll have to deal with her on my own." He shrugged. "I'll keep in touch with you either way, alright?"

James swallowed hard and nodded. That wasn't enough to make Qrow feel any better about things, but it was enough. It was all that he could really expect to get out of James at that point. He was just glad that the guy was staying as calm as he was about things.

The last few days had been hard, but James was holding together well enough, as far as Qrow could see.

There had been a lot of things that had changed over the course of those last few days. Somehow, Qrow had managed to get even closer to James, to the the point where he might have actually graduated out of the guest room for the most part. There was comfort in being able to sleep side by side with James as he did now, and he was sure that it was helping James to some degree.

Though he had to wonder sometimes whether or not this was just James trying to desperately cling onto someone else after what had happened with Ozpin's last appearance.

There was something that neither of them were willing to talk about, and Qrow could tell.

But he could just do his best to keep James feeling comfortable in the time before they finally met with Raven about everything that was happening.

The two of them found an empty and clean table by the restaurant that Raven had chosen, and Qrow took a seat beside James at the small booth that they'd chosen so that once Raven arrived she would be able to sit across from him without ending up having to sit next to James.

But James was quiet the entire time, and it almost seemed like it was all because of the fact that Qrow had inadvertently ended up sitting on James' right side. It made him wonder how much of this was a result of pain flaring up in the guy's side, or whether or not it was just standard awkwardness.

"You ready for this?" Qrow asked, keeping his voice quiet.

"Yeah," James mumbled, watching him out of the corner of his eye. "Are you?'

Qrow scanned the food court for any sign of Raven, and soon enough he saw her through the crowd and couldn't help but to let out a quiet sigh as he tried to relax himself just slightly enough that he'd be able to make everything work out.

"I dunno." Qrow swallowed hard as his sister approached the two of them. "But it's time that we find out, I guess."

"Well," James mumbled, keeping his voice low. "Good luck."

Qrow felt something nudge against his ankle, and he figured that it was James' own ankle, robotic though it may be. He took a deep breath, kept his head up, and just waited before raising one of his hands up into the air so that he'd be able to flag Raven down, just for a bit.

She noticed him sure enough, and was quick to make her way over to him and James before taking a seat across from Qrow and tossing her bag up onto the table in front of James, effectively blocking him out of the conversation so that this was between her and Qrow, and nobody else.

Which was about Qrow and James should have expected.

"Brother." Raven greeted him, leaning back in her seat already and Qrow could almost see the way that she crossed one leg over the other and made herself comfortable there. "You look well."

"Yeah," Qrow answered with a slight shrug. "You're looking pretty good yourself."

Raven smirked and tossed her hair back over her shoulder. "Yeah," She smiled. "I know." Qrow watched her eyes, and the way that they slid over to to James, like she was sure that she was going to be able to find something there. He watched the way that they narrowed and that James didn't seem to waver at all the entire time.

Military calm, entirely faked, Qrow realized.

"Who's the square?"

James never wavered, just stared back at Raven almost like he was playing the same sort of game with her.

Qrow swallowed before speaking up. "Raven, this is James," He introduced his friend. "I've been staying with him when I'm out here in Atlas, and when I needed a ride..."

"So you brought him here with us?"

"Yeah," Qrow answered, shrugging. "He's probably going to the party for Yang anyways."

"Because of you, or-"

"Actually," James finally spoke up. "I'll be accompanying my daughter Penny for the party since she is a friend of Yang's."

Raven's eyes narrowed slightly and she just watched James closely. In fact, that little mention meant that she was more interested in James than ever, and that alone was enough to leave Qrow worrying about what was going to end up happening later on. He swallowed hard and just watched the two of them out of the corner of his eye, looking for the first sign that things were going wrong.

"You know my daughter then?" Raven spoke up, keeping her voice low. "How _cute._ "

James grimaced and Qrow noticed that he seemed to stiffen entirely.

"Yeah," Qrow spoke up, leaning back in his seat. "The point is, he's here for a reason." He shrugged slightly and let out a quiet sigh. "She was doing well the last that I saw her."

"And Summer and Taiyang?"

Qrow frowned, knowing that he didn't have anything that he wanted to say to his sister about that. Everything that he'd needed to say to her he'd already gone over, and he hadn't exactly talked to Summer or Taiyang lately about what was going on.

They didn't know whether she was going to be coming along or not. They didn't know anything, and that was for the better. The less that they knew, it meant that there were more choices for things to go poorly, but the more, there were even more chances for things to possibly go poorly.

In the end, how things went was going to be based on how Yang dealt with the whole thing.

"They don't know much." Qrow finally said, shrugging slightly. "I haven't told them whether you plan to come or not, and that's for the better."

"You sure?"

"Yeah." Qrow finally said, shrugging slightly and leaning back in his seat a little bit. He wanted to pick his arm and drape it over the back of the seat, but couldn't convince himself that it was such a good idea for him to do. This was James sitting beside him, James who was always jumpy and never wanted to get into the middle of things. James who would probably shut down once things got a little bit too close or personal. "Raven, they want you there."

"I know. They always do." His sister's eyes slid shut and she almost seemed to relax slightly, but not much. Not nearly enough, by Qrow's standards. "Do _you_ want me there?"

"Of course." Qrow replied, blinking twice and just watching his sister as closely as he could manage. "I miss having you around."

"You mean it?" Raven's eyes flicked over to James, and Qrow couldn't help the nervousness that rose up in his chest over the whole thing. It was entirely too likely that it was possible that Raven was thinking that she'd been somehow replaced by James.

Qrow didn't want her to be thinking that for a second, and he just knew that was where things were going. He closed his eyes and took a very deep breath before letting it out again.

"Yes." Qrow replied, keeping his voice as level as he could possibly manage. "You're my sister and while Tai and Summer might miss you well..." He shrugged, feeling a slight sort of guilt over those words. He didn't really know whether or not he missed Raven more than Taiyang or Summer did, but he felt confident enough about it that he could say it out loud.

He'd had a lifetime with Raven before them, after all.

Raven took a deep breath, and Qrow could have suggested that she was just doing her absolute best to calm herself down before things got too far out of line. She needed to relax, and that was probably obvious to all three of them at the table.

"I probably shouldn't but… I think I'm going to go." Raven finally said, opening her eyes back up and locking her burning red eyes on Qrow. "You need to keep them ready for me. Including the kid."

"I'm going to." Qrow mumbled, leaning back and resting his hands on the table in front of him. He felt the slight nudge at his ankle that told him that James was doing his best to offer him some sort of comfort there. "I think they're going to be really happy to have you around again, Raven."

"Yeah," Raven grimaced, her eyes snapping down so that she could focus her gaze on her hands instead of Qrow. "I know." There was a silent set of words there that would always go unspoken.

'I miss them too.'

Qrow had to fight himself to be able to keep himself from dwelling on that thought, since he knew that it was only going to end up causing him and Raven trouble in the long run. They both knew better than that. So he swallowed, looked to James to see whether or not the guy was still with them mentally, which at least appeared to be true and just let his hand drop onto the table to make a quiet sound.

"We should get to it, shouldn't we?"

"Yeah," Raven answered, bowing her head /just so/ when she got up so that she could hide behind her bangs and Qrow and James both followed. "So, toy store, right?"

"Yeah," Qrow said with a slight shrug. "I figured we'd be able to find something good there, and then we would be able to make things work from there." The twins both looked over at James completely on cue and completely synchronized.

Qrow watched as James slipped his hands down deep into his pockets so that he could keep his right arm pressed in close against his body and have a little bit less that he was going to have to worry about later on. He smiled and watched James closely, hoping that his friend would be able to find some sort of comfort there.

"Is the square coming with us?" Raven asked, her eyes flickering over to James and then back to Qrow.

"I..." Qrow paused and looked over at James, seeking something in the man's eyes that was going to be enough to let him know how they were doing in regards to his comfort with the situation. "Jim?"

James paused and locked his eyes onto Qrow before shrugging. "I probably have things to get myself," He said, keeping his voice as quiet as he could manage while they were there. Qrow frowned, but he didn't really expected that James was going to stick by with him and Raven all day.

Especially when the guy seemed so uncomfortable just being at the mall alone.

"Alright." Qrow said, forcing a smile in James' direction before looking back over at Raven. "I guess we'll be off?"

"Right." Raven answered, picking her bag up off of the table and slinging it over her shoulder. She began to lead the way, and Qrow followed after her, but he took a moment to stop beside James.

"Text me if you need anything?"

"Yeah," James mumbled back, forcing a smile. "Of course."

Qrow nodded and followed after Raven, feeling a little bit more awkward and uncomfortable with the situation, though he didn't quite know why he was feeling that way. Maybe it was just the feeling that James' discomfort had ended up rubbing off on him.

"So," Raven spoke up when the two of them were finally away from James and more or less alone, save for the strangers that they happened to share a space with. "What should I even expect when I see Taiyang and Summer?"

Qrow paused, knowing that he didn't quite have a good answer for Raven's question when he brought everything into consideration, so he decided that the best thing he could do was try and start on square one and hope it was going to be enough to help.

"Well, for one-" Qrow began. "They've got two kids there these days, and a dog. Yang, you'll recognize her first thing. Spitting image of Tai." He looked at his sister and felt his heart almost burst out of his chest. "Got your curls though. Your smile. She'll probably punch like you when she's older."

"And the other kid?"

"Ruby." Qrow explained, smiling again. "She looks just like Summer, it's a little creepy how close they are in looks. Carbon copy, you know?" He blinked. "She's a couple years younger than Yang..." He smiled softly. "Wakes me up every morning that I'm there. Give her cookies and she'll probably love you." Qrow slipped his hands down into his pockets, feeling almost uncomfortable but also because he wanted to relax a little bit. "She's a great kid. Loves everyone, no matter what."

Raven watched Qrow, and he almost was ready to shrink under that gaze of hers. He knew that she had a reason for it, but he couldn't help it. He knew that he had gone ahead and showed a little more softness than normal, but Ruby and Yang tended to make him feel that way. They were the best thing in the world, and Qrow wanted for Raven to know that too, as different as the two of them tended to be.

But she seemed unhappy with the situation, like there was something that wasn't going to be enough to make things work. Qrow was afraid of that.

"It sounds like Summer and Taiyang have been doing just fine without me around."

She watched him, her eyes almost drilling into him. "And you, considering your friend."

"James?" Qrow said quietly with a slight shrug. "He's fine." He paused, looking down slightly, though he knew that it wasn't going to be enough to make him feel better when everything was brought into consideration about how things were supposed to be. "Look, I miss having you around. He's nice and gives me a good place to stay but-"

"But?"

"But what I want is my sister back, not someone like him, as great as he tends to be."

Raven sighed heavily, staring Qrow down for just a moment before she finally spoke back up again. "Well, I don't know how much I'm going to be around..." She swallowed. "Even if I'm showing up for Yang's birthday party, I don't know whether I'm going to be able to come back for good."

Qrow paused. This was something that he'd been fearing, and so he couldn't act like he was too surprised to hear Raven say all of that. She didn't like staying in one place for long, and she never had been. The fact that Qrow had been able to adjust to things was a surprise, all things considered.

They'd both been drifters for a long time.

And if she thought things didn't work with Summer and Taiyang, then Qrow was sure that Raven was going to bolt immediately. That wasn't even considering what would happen if Yang didn't like her.

Qrow knew fully well that things had the potential to go very wrong. First, he wasn't even sure whether or not Yang knew about Raven or not- and whether that was going to bring some fallout that none of them were prepared for or considering. If Yang didn't take that well, then things were going to end up going beyond poorly.

It was the biggest concern that he had. In the end, if something went front and Yang didn't take this well, he was sure that Raven might end up being pushed out of the family for good. Whether that was for better or for worse remained to be seen, it was just that they needed to protect Yang.

If she wanted to see Raven again when she's older, then that would be allowed.

But for now…

For now, he just had to go ahead and talk to Raven.

"I know." He said finally, keeping his voice down. "Look, I…" Qrow had to take a deep breath before he was able to say any more to Raven about this. He couldn't leave her out in the cold on this. "I won't blame you if you decide you have to stay away."

Raven stared him down, her eyes narrowed and looking for something that he didn't want to be able to identify. In the end, he figured that the look on her face was doubt. He couldn't blame her for doubting him about saying that he wouldn't judge her for running.

Nobody in their right mind would really believe that sort of thing.

"You say that now." Raven commented, tearing her eyes away from Qrow for no reason that he could easily discern other than to break the eye contact that existed between them. "I know you were angry when I ran."

"Rae-" Qrow swallowed hard, knowing fully well that she had just purposely led him into a trap. "Look, I-"

"Don't deny it, Qrow."

"I'm not." Qrow finally said as his volume dropped dramatically. The truth was that when Raven had run he had been upset, because everyone was and he couldn't think of anyone that wouldn't have been upset by someone bailing on their family so suddenly. Hell, he was sure that James would have, same with Junior and Roman.

Raven was his sister. They'd grown up together, and while he knew that she tended to be a bit on the flighty side, he didn't like thinking of her as just that. They had more than the others did when it came to each other, and Qrow didn't intend for her to be able to slip away from him for good.

He took a deep breath, doing his best to steel himself before continuing. "Yeah, I was upset that you ran, but I understand why you did it better now." He shrugged, just slightly. "I know you don't do anything unless you have a reason to." With those words, Qrow stopped dead in his tracks and just watched Raven, looking for any sort of sign that she was getting angry at him for saying what he had.

There was a quick flash of anger that ran over her face, but it was quashed all too quickly- something that Qrow was glad for. He hadn't lost his ability to navigate his sister in the last few years.

"So if I go-"

"I won't hate you for it." Qrow finished. "Besides, I'm pretty sure that you aren't the one that they're going to be angry at right now." He tried not to frown too much at that and dropped his head so that he was able to hide a little bit. Qrow knew that he was retreating in on himself in his own way, shoving his hands deeper down into his pockets so that he'd be able to hide the fact that his hands had a slight shake in them.

He wanted a drink, badly.

Maybe once this was all over with, then he'd be able to have a drink with James back at the house. That would surely be enough to make him feel better about things. But there was something that he knew Raven wasn't going to be letting go so easily. He couldn't just go ahead and say that he was sure that Taiyang and Summer were mad at him without her ignoring it.

Raven watched him, walking at his side the entire time. "So they're angry at you now?" There was a long pause that hung between the two of them before Raven finally clarified the matter. "Because of me?"

"Yes and no." Qrow answered with a shrug. "Just too many secrets and they're all catching up with me, I guess." He knew that it wasn't a good enough answer, but it was the only thing that he could think to say to Raven about it. He didn't want to get into things that they'd already talked about so many times before.

"Does it have to do with your friend back there?" Raven asked, turning so that she could steer the two of them into a toy store where they were hoping to be able to pick up a few gifts for Yang's party. "Because if you're really spending so much time with him-"

That was a hard question to answer. Qrow swallowed hard.

"Yes and no." He finally mumbled. "It's... I'm spending a lot of time out here in Atlas because I have semi-stable work and James has a guest room that he doesn't mind me staying in as long as I help him out around the house." Qrow followed closely after his sister, hoping that he'd be able to deflect her away from the topic soon enough. "They think that I've got work at Junior's but that's not true. They also think that I've been doing contract security work."

"So all lies?"

"Yeah," Qrow said, grabbing a shopping basket for the two of them to use. "Pretty much."

Raven hummed and nodded, walking at Qrow's side because neither of them were really sure about what they were going to end up needing to get for Yang. "So you're here in Atlas all the time because you're lying to them?"

"That's one way of putting it, yeah." Qrow mumbled. "Look it's... complicated."

Raven stared him down, looking a little more than thoroughly unconvinced by what Qrow had said. He couldn't pretend as though that was something that he hadn't expected, especially knowing how Raven tended to be about things. She was his sister though, and so he didn't want to make her doubt him too much.

"Is it complicated?" Raven asked, watching Qrow closely. "Because if it's so complicated I don't see why you don't go ahead and try to make it less complicated."

Qrow frowned, a little bit unsure as to whether or not there was any way to make it so that things were less uncomfortable for him at home. The fact of the matter was that there wasn't any way to do that which wasn't going to require that he go ahead and tell them that he was living a double life in Atlas.

"I can't." He said finally. "Things are really... well, messy."

There was a quiet sort of silence that settled between the two of them as he and Raven tucked themselves into the shelves in the hopes that they were going to be able to avoid some scrutiny that way.

She was watching him- she was looking for something in him that Qrow couldn't quite name and wasn't sure that he wanted to know about. Qrow loved Raven, that was true, but there wasn't really any way that he could manage this on his own.

He took a deep breath as he reached into his pocket to find his phone and find a short list that he'd managed to compile for what he should get for Yang's gift. As Qrow was scrolling through his notes, which ranged from random thoughts that had come to him, to shopping lists that he and James used, to just plain directions on how to get from point a to point b, he tried to ignore Raven.

He couldn't think of any reason to say anything else to Raven.

But when she spoke up again, she was quiet. "How many secrets are you hiding, Qrow?"

A lot." He said finally. "Too many."

"I'm sorry to be one of them."

Qrow blinked, feeling sad as he thought things through before taking a item down from one of the shelves to pass off to Raven. "Don't be." He muttered, doing his best not to sound as bitter as he felt about everything that was going on. "You're my sister, I wouldn't trade you for anything."

"You mean it?"

"Yeah." Qrow answered. "I do."

"You know that I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you?"

There was that silence again, just as heavy and just as relentless as it had been before. He hadn't known that Raven was considering things in that way, but at the same time Qrow couldn't exactly go ahead and act like he was surprised by the fact that Raven was saying that. There had been too much that had changed over the last few years.

"I didn't know that." He finally admitted. "I figured that your endgame was just going to be to keep running off."

Raven slid in close to him, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him in close. Qrow paused for a moment, reaching around to hug his sister close for the first time in a very long time. Her hair was as long and as frustratingly in the way as it had always been, and Qrow was mostly glad for that fact. It was still his sister there.

"I'm sorry." She whispered. "I've dragged you through hell the last few years, haven't I?"

Qrow let the hug linger for as long as he could manage it before Raven finally pulled away from him and stared down into his eyes. She'd always been a bit stronger than him, and taller. The joke when he'd been young was that he was the runt when Raven was everything that he was supposed to be rather than the other way around.

In a way, that was true.

"Yeah," He mumbled, turning back to the shelf in front of the two of them. "But you had a reason to leave, and I can't blame you for that."

"You've just deserved better." Raven mumbled. "I know that... being close to them is probably hard for you."

Qrow shrugged slightly, hoping that it was going to be enough that he'd be able to properly brush off Raven's comment for what it was instead of letting himself get to frustrated with it. "It is." He admitted finally. "But it's been getting easier just as often as it gets hard."

"And your friend the square helps?"

Qrow shrugged. "Nah." He answered. It didn't feel right. It wasn't completely genuine. "Sometimes." Another shrug. "Maybe. I don't know anymore.

"Well,"Raven sighed. "Maybe you'll be able to figure it out sometime and you'll have better luck with him than I did with Tai and Summer."

Qrow smiled slightly. He hadn't been expecting that, but to be wished good luck in regards to James by Raven of all people was odd, and entirely welcome.

"Thanks," He said finally. "I don't think that he likes you much though."

"That-" Raven laughed, dropping something down into the shopping basket that the two of them had taken. "Seems likely." Her eyes went all soft and sad even, and Qrow couldn't help the pang of guilt that ran through him at the thought. "I don't blame him."

Those words were enough to make Qrow pause though before he decided to try and finish what he'd been saying. "I mean," He smiled slightly ."James doesn't really like anyone, so I wouldn't take it too personally."

"Well," Raven watched him closely. "I don't think he's going to get many chances to be able to warm up to me."

"Yeah," Qrow shrugged slightly as the two of them began walking through the store again. "I doubt it, but I also don't think that James is exactly the type to take it personally."

Raven smiled slightly as she walked alongside him, also looking for something that they were going to be able to pick up for Yang's present. "Well," She started, "He seems... well-adjusted enough."

Qrow tried to hide the way that it almost felt like his eyes bugged out of his head at that comment, because he knew James much better than most people did. To call James well-adjusted in anything was somewhere between incorrect and disingenuous, but Qrow couldn't really say that. He couldn't talk about how he had a friend that was dealing with a lot of things and not necessarily doing so well in that endeavor.

"He does well enough." Qrow finally managed a response to Raven. "I'm mostly just glad that you don't utterly hate him."

"That remains to be seen." Raven chuckled as the two of them shopped together. Qrow watched her just as closely as she did him, and it quickly became apparent to him that she kept on making jabs at him and bringing up things in his life because of the fact that she was just as insecure about their situation as he was. If she kept on asking him questions, then it meant that Qrow wasn't asking him questions about her plans for what was going to come ahead when she finally saw Summer, or Taiyang, or little Yang face to face. "I'm just frustrated that you brought him."

"Yeah well," Qrow shrugged. "Don't really have a car of my own anymore."

"Yeah?"

Qrow took a deep breath and peeled his eyes away from Raven. "I uh, crashed mine a while ago."

"What happened?" Raven asked, watching him closely.

Qrow just stared back at her, in the hopes that it was going to be enough to make her not question it too much. "It was a crash." He answered. "Blew just under the legal amount, but they still took my license for it."

There was that silence again. Qrow was lucky that Raven wasn't the type that would judge him for this sort of thing. "So we're both messes, huh?"

"Always have been." Qrow mumbled, his voice arriving just above a whisper in volume. "That's not going to be changing anytime soon. It's the Branwen curse."

There was a pause, and the two of them just stared into each other's eyes for a long moment in an attempt to try and calm down or figure things out.

For the first time in a long time, it felt like they were on similar standing and there was neither of them judging the other for everything that was going on in their lives.

There was a gentleness about this situation that neither of them were really used to, and that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Mostly, Qrow was just glad because for the first time in a very long time, it felt like he and Raven were standing on equal ground and there was nothing wrong.

The two of them shopped together, and by the time they were done, they'd managed to put together the perfect gift for Yang, and then Qrow was off on his way to find James again and the two of them made their way back to the house.

Qrow couldn't feel completely relieved by the whole thing.

That was just out of reach these days.

But he could, and he did, feel at the very least hopeful.

It was probably a foolish decision on his part.


	64. The General

James and Qrow piled into James' car at around 7 o'clock at night so that they could drive across town to the Candle Street apartment that normally served as their base of operations. That morning, James had sent out a number of texts to alert everyone to the fact that there was going to be a meeting that night, and he'd been assured that everyone would be showing up for what was to come.

Considering the way that things could have gone, it wasn't much of a stretch to call that a relief.

Roman and Junior had been gracious enough to open up use of the apartment for the meeting. James hadn't been expecting for that to happen necessarily, since his home tended to be just as good of a meeting place, but there was something that was almost symbolic about having a meeting at Roman and Junior's home at that point. It was a sign of the old regime being long dead, but it was also a sign to the others that him and Ozpin being in charge of a mission changed nothing in reality.

That was important to James. In fact, that was so incredibly important to him that he couldn't imagine things being any other way. He needed this.

There was also the small detail where it meant that there would be less to clean up, but that was truly minor in the grand scheme of things by James' view.

And so now he and Qrow were getting ready to pull into the parking lot of the Candle Street apartment building that they were both familiar with. They were both going to have to carry things inside with them when the time came for it, but that wasn't such a big deal in the long run. Full hands were a consequence of doing good work.

However, James couldn't ignore the trepidation that skittered up his spine at the prospect of what was going to be coming for them to do that night. He couldn't ignore that having Ozpin around threw him off as badly as it did everyone else. He couldn't ignore that he was theoretically sentencing his friends to a death sentence.

But that was why they were going to have this meeting. They needed to check that everyone was on the same page with what was going to be happening when things finally came together for work. This was their way of hammering out any gaps in the plan together.

The number of ways in which having a meeting like this was important was so great that it was almost important for James to actually count them.

He parked in the usual space and just squeezed his eyes shut, pressing his lips into a thin line as he tried to banish any tension in his body all at once. A futile effort, but a necessary one nonetheless. James knew fully well that he couldn't go into that meeting feeling any bit off his game if he was going to be making this work so well.

If so much as one thing was visibly off, then he was never going to end up being forgiven for it.

A thousand things ran through his head as he tried to calm himself there. It was codenames and street names, worries and concerns that weren't going to be disappearing on him as easily as he would like.

There was a familiarity to this situation that he didn't want to acknowledge.

Of course, before there was always something fundamentally different. Before, he would have had someone at his side to help him before things got going, but it was always Glynda or Junior.

Not the man that sat beside him in the car that day.

Qrow rested his hand on top of James' on the center console between them, and squeezed so gently that James almost didn't feel it. Of course, James had to wonder how much of that had to do with the fact that Qrow was trying to hold his right hand and the fact that sensation on that side tended to be awkward and inconsistent even on a good day.

James picked his head up and looked over at Qrow, who was watching him with those red eyes of his in some sort of concern.

"C'mon." Qrow mumbled quietly. "We should get up there."

That was it.

Now James couldn't hide behind his own nerves anymore. "Yeah," He answered finally. "Help me with everything?"

"Of course."

Nothing else was said between the two of them as they climbed out of the car and went to the back seat so that they could collect everything that was going to be necessary for the meeting that waited ahead of them. The two may have needed to take several minutes at the side of the car, both doing their best to figure out the best way to transport everything.

A lot of what they needed to hold one of these meetings was going to be up in the apartment, and that was certainly something that James could take some comfort in. It meant that he didn't have to worry about bringing in his own whiteboards or anything, though he had elected to bring the pinboard that he had his map on because it was simply going to be easier and less time consuming than doing up Roman's map for the job ahead.

The meeting wasn't going to be for a little while, and that was a good thing. It meant that James had time to get things set, while Qrow was probably going to sit in the kitchen with Junior and Roman or something.

After that, it was going to end up being a waiting game as they awaited the arrivals of Glynda, Winter, and hopefully Ozpin.

James didn't trust that he wasn't going to be left to run this alone.

James and Qrow made their ways into the elevator that was going to be taking them up to Roman and Junior's apartment, and after that it became a matter of how easily they were going to be able to relax. James certainly hadn't forgotten how things tended to go when he was stuck in this elevator with Qrow alone.

He would be a fool not to.

But this time it was different, for so many other reasons.

For instance, this was the first time that they were going to be riding the elevator together without anything awkward existing between the two of them. There were no confused feelings left behind by adrenaline, they were comrades.

James was glad for it.

Neither of them said anything to the other, mostly because at the time it felt inappropriate to do so. The both of them needed some quiet so that they'd be able to relax while they made their way towards what was almost certain doom.

So that ride on the elevator was shockingly comfortable, and James and Qrow walked until they were at the door to Junior and Roman's apartment, where Qrow was the first to knock. James swallowed hard and waited, doing his best to keep himself from showing that he was feeling any discomforts over this. The fact that it was him and Qrow arriving together meant that it was going to be all too easy for Roman and Junior to read into things.

Even with everything that had changed lately between himself and Qrow, that was still something that James didn't want to deal with.

The door swung open to reveal Roman standing behind it, looking like he hadn't gone ahead and done himself up for the meeting just yet. He smiled widely. "Well, hello to the two of you." The thin man commented before stepping aside to welcome James and Qrow inside. "I see you've decided to come early."

"Yeah," James answered Roman, grimacing ever so slightly. "I hate to be a bother, but it felt like it was for the best if I showed up early and made sure things were set."

Roman hummed quietly as Qrow closed the door behind him. "Lucky for you two, Junior's already taken the girls off to Grandma Lin's for the night." He stretched just slightly, sliding in close to Qrow and wrapping an arm around Qrow's shoulders. "So you have nothing to worry about."

"Speak for yourself." Qrow laughed as he raised a hand so that he could push Roman's arm off of him. "Ozpin's supposed to be showing up tonight."

That seemed to sober the situation entirely, James noted as he began to set things up in the living room. The fact that Roman had gone much quieter than he normally would have was enough to tell him that Qrow's words had held the desired effect. James took a deep breath, trying to remind himself that when it came down to it, he was going to end up being the one for whom it was the most important to keep a level head. If things started going wrong, James could be sure that he was going to be the one that everyone needed as a rock.

And oh, how he was expecting for things to go poorly that night. The number of ways that he was expecting for things to fall apart was simply staggering, and so James had to focus to get things done.

Roman and Qrow were soon to join him though, beginning by making sure that furniture was in all of the right places while the two of them talked about inane things like what they'd seen on television that week. James partially suspected that the two of them were avoiding the topic of work for his sake, and he couldn't really say that he minded that so much.

Setting up the room for a meeting took a few minutes, but once it was done, James was able to take a few steps back and look over everything that he'd put out one last time.

They were ready.

So once he was done with everything, he took a seat on the couch, and Roman and Qrow were soon to join him, all three of them talking about what they were going to be doing that day and getting ready. Soon enough Junior got home, carrying a few bags of groceries with him, and so Roman was off to help put things away.

That left James and Qrow alone, for just a little bit. Neither of them said much to the other, because it didn't feel like it was appropriate to do so.

It was a waiting game.

Junior joined them, and the four of them decided to just talk about all of the mundane things that were going on in their lives, and soon enough, there was a knock at the door.

Someone had arrived for the meeting.

Roman went off to the door to answer it, and so James sighed heavily, gently patting Qrow's knee before getting up and going to the front of the room for one last check that everything was in order.

Glynda came in and looked around the room, her expression purely unamused. She glued her gaze onto James. "I see you've prepared everything."

"Not exactly everything." James answered, his voice as level as possible."I had help." His eyes flickered over to the others, and Glynda understood. She stepped away from James, and in doing so left him feeling more nervous than before. James wasn't quite sure as to why.

Glynda took her seat on the couch in the spot that she normally did and leaned back there, making herself perfectly at home. "I've heard."

James couldn't hide his slight grimace at that. In a lot of ways, this was something that he knew he could expect from Glynda, but that didn't make it any less pleasant to hear from her directly. Part of him suspected that she was just miffed over the fact that she was no longer in a controlling position.

Deep down, he couldn't blame Glynda for it.

After all, to pretend as though she hadn't just seen a significant demotion lately was ignorant. He swallowed hard and looked back at Glynda over his shoulder. "Did they say anything to you?"

"Only that you were..." Glynda paused, her expression deathly serious. " _Uncooperative._ "

That wasn't something that he'd wanted to hear, but all things considered, he didn't want to press the issue. "I see." James finally murmured. "Hopefully this meeting will help to enlighten the situation."

Glynda hummed, looking completely unamused with James but she said nothing. In a way, she didn't have to. They both knew what was going on and neither of them wanted to say the words that were buzzing in the back of their minds. James blinked and swallowed hard, turning back towards the map and everything that he'd set up.

Every single piece was in place. Now it was up to him to go ahead and make this happen once they had a full house again. Of course, Winter and Ozpin were both yet to make an appearance, but James wasn't opposed to starting before Ozpin arrived. After all, they had made a habit of only appearing after things were already started anyways.

It was fifteen minutes before Winter showed up, and based on the timing James could make a safe bet that she'd made it there because of the city's bus system. She settled in, and James found himself taking a deep breath and rubbing at his high shoulder as he tried hard to distract himself away his stresses. He couldn't let himself get distracted by that.

This was about now, not the past.

So James steeled himself one last time, stowed a pen in his pocket, and turned to face everyone that had come to gather to meet.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" James asked quietly, looking amongst the faces in the room for the first time in a long time. This was him in a position of power once again. This was a return to the past. "And I'm sure that all of you are wondering what we're doing here."

"Yeah we are!" Roman laughed, sliding into his seat beside Junior. "Glad to have you back, General."

James laughed and shook his head. "Yeah, it's been a while." He said again, this time feeling slightly more confident than he had been before. "Well, I've got to let all of you know that it's time that we go back to big money jobs. No more of this playing around with gas stations and galas, we're going back to our roots."

"James?" Winter leaned forward slightly. "What-"

"I'd like to introduce you all to our target," James announced, falling back into the charismatic self that he normally would have been in this position. He stepped to the side, giving a better view of the map to everyone else in the room. He pointed to a photograph in the corner of a large building, clearly taken off of a street view map from the internet. "The First National Bank of Atlas."

There it was, the silence that tended to fall over them when this sort of thing was brought up. Of course, this time around it seemed to be coming with a little bit more baggage attached. They all knew fully well what had happened the last time that they'd gone after a bank.

James swallowed hard and looked between all of them. "I know what you're all thinking." He ignored the pain in his shoulder that threatened to throw him off. "The last time we went after a bank, it was a..." He made a point not to look back over at them again. "Well, calling it a disaster may be putting it lightly. But now is our chance to make that right."

He reached out with his right arm and gently tapped on the map. "And I need to tell you all something now. This is going to be my last job, and I want to go out on top."

Again James looked back out at the others in search of something there before speaking again and letting his eyes lock onto Qrow for a split second. "Ozpin reached out to me to run this job and the two of us have been in contact to try and get things working out." All at once, James sank into parade rest, as he had so many times before this group. Of course, the group had changed, but the position was the same.

This was where he had always seemed to fit the best. "Now, Ozpin hasn't arrived yet, but I wanted to make it clear that this..." Another swallowed and a small shake of his head. "This is going to be a big one, for all of us. And I want this job to be a success." His voice dropped in volume as James took a step forward so that he was only half a foot away from the coffee table in the center of the room.

There was something that he wanted to say to them. Something that he would have been thrown out of the room for if Ozpin was there.

"We're looking at a big payout, and-" He paused, letting out a quiet breath. "And if this goes as well as we want it to, then we're going to be seeing a lot of money. Enough money that any of you could reasonably leave this life if you wanted. I know that I will be."

There was an unspoken _if we make it out alive_ that James knew the others were able to extrapolate on their own. They were smart, James knew that.

Roman shifted forward and his mouth dropped open just a little bit. Like he was himself trying to figure out what he wanted to do with this. That was something that James had been expecting, but it was also so very welcome. It meant that if he was getting out, then he wasn't going to be alone when he did so.

"So you're saying-" Roman paused, looking back over at Junior over his shoulder. He swallowed before focusing on James again. "How much money are we talking?"

"Based on the numbers that Ozpin and I have been running?" James answered. "We're looking at over a quarter of a million dollars per person."

There it was again, deathly heavy silence.

They all knew.

They all understood.

" _Holy shit_." Winter said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Yeah." James smiled out at all of the others. "Like I said, big money."

James didn't let himself linger on those words for long, mostly because it didn't feel like it was appropriate to do so. He'd communicated exactly the message that he'd needed to, and so he turned back to the map to begin pointing out certain locations on it. "As of right now, the plans haven't been completely finalized, though I can assure you we have been hard at work trying to find the best ways to make them happen."

He paused for a moment. "The current plan involves us taking control over an armored truck and picking up the money by appearing at the same time that the legitimate truck is meant to be arriving at the bank." James turned around and his gaze snapped over to Glynda. "We're going to need a way to keep it from arriving on time, something which I believe we've done before."

Glynda nodded. "We may still have some surplus spike strips at our disposal."

James let himself smile, just slightly. "That would be excellent." He looked between everyone else in the room for a moment before speaking up again. "I've already gone through and tried to figure out the best possible placement for everyone on the job. Of course, nothing has been finalized yet, but it would be good for people to be able to ahead and start working on reconnaissance."

There was a sound on the other side of the apartment that told James that Ozpin had arrived. He paused and focused his gaze on Roman before nodding over in the direction of the door. "Could you?"

"Sure thing, General."

James dropped his hands down to his sides again, and found himself fidgeting with his pen awkwardly

while he awaited Ozpin's proper arrival on the scene. James had absolutely no delusions that told him that it was going to be smooth sailing from then on, and so he just waited.

Off on the other side of the apartment, he listened closely as Roman and Ozpin exchanged greetings, though nothing else was said for the most part. There was no question about whether or not Ozpin had been late to arrive, nothing of the sort.

It made James' blood boil.

He didn't let it show. Instead James fidgeted with that pen in his hand, repeatedly capping and uncapping it with a push from his thumb. If he squeezed too hard, he knew the pen would break.

But soon Ozpin was there, entering the room, looking around for a place to take a seat, and then smiling at James as they seated themself in the place where James normally would have. That shouldn't have been something that threatened to set James off, but it did. There was a certain sort of arrogance about it that reminded James strongly of old acquaintances that he'd long since passed by.

His gaze slid over to Qrow, seeking some comfort but unable to find it.

Ozpin smiled though. They leaned back into their seat, and gestured towards James. "Carry on."

James swallowed hard and nodded. "I was just explaining the basic outline that we've set out for the job."

Ozpin's eyes seemed to narrow behind their too-small glasses, and James had to fight the anger that burned under his skin once more. There was truly no winning for him when Ozpin was around, if only because Ozpin would never allow it. James would have definitely preferred that he wasn't wrapped up in a constant battle for power with Ozpin, but it seemed that was just going to be the norm for the two of them these days.

"Did you?" Ozpin commented, crossing one leg over the other and resting their cane across their lap. "Did you tell them that you're going to get them all killed?"

James grit his teeth and inhaled deeply in what could have only shown to be the greatest sign of his frustration thus far in that meeting. This was just a roadblock, he reminded himself. Ozpin was probably trying to discredit him, in addition to showing their displeasure with the fact that James had been trying to change plans behind their back.

As James saw it, either way they were likely to face a lot of trouble. Just with his way, he was going to be able to have a little bit more control about the situation that he wouldn't have otherwise. Besides, this way he was going to be able to ensure that there was no better place for each member of the group when they got started.

In the end, it meant that they were going to be doing this job. All that really changed were some specifics.

So James swallowed hard and tried to remind himself that this was just Ozpin playing some mind games with him. "Somehow, it hadn't come up." James finally said in a completely deadpan tone. "Since killing isn't part of the objective."

"But of course."

Out of the corner of his eye, James was able to see a few people shifting awkwardly with this latest addition to the situation. He couldn't let them down, James told himself. It was imperative that he didn't let them down.

"As I was saying." James turned to the group again, dropping into military-straight posture and lacing his fingers around his wrist and swallowing hard. "I've gone ahead and examined everyone's particular skillsets to try and find the best ways that you can be used."

His eyes narrowed and he focused on Ozpin. "Do you think you can shut down the cameras again, or should one of us begin training to do that?"

Ozpin seemed to be just slightly taken aback by that question, but didn't seem to linger on it too much before answering. "I would be able to do that." Ozpin commented finally. "Though I will need to be able to find a way to get into the system."

James nodded slowly. "We'll see what we can do." He replied before turning his eyes onto Junior. "We've talked about getting you installed with bank security. Are you still on board with that should it come up?"

"I am." Junior said quietly. "Should be no problem."

"Good." James replied before looking over at Qrow. "You're driving the truck, we've already talked about that." He glanced over to Roman. "I want you in the truck with me when we arrive, Roman." James' eyes flicked over to Glynda. "Glynda, I may need you to be the eyes on this operation, or at the very least creating a diversion. Could you?"

"That should be easy enough." Glynda sighed as she adjusted her glasses on her face.

That left only one person unassigned. James swallowed hard, because this was easily the one that he wanted to address the absolute least about the whole thing.

Winter.

She was looking at him expectantly, and James was sure that if he were to explain his situation she would understand what he needed from her well enough, but that wasn't enough to make him feel wholly confident with all things considered. "Winter-" James spoke up quietly. "We're going to need your help, but you won't be getting close to the robbery itself, okay?"

"What am I supposed to do then?" Winter asked, her voice as hard as ever and her gaze refusing to waver away from James. "If I'm not with the others-"

"This is very important." James said quietly. "But what I need for you to do is get the police distracted away from bank at around the time that the robbery is going to happen. You're going to need a burner phone to do it, but I need your help with this. You'll probably be working with Glynda on the day of the job."

"What is it that you need me to do?"

James paused and looked at her. "You're going to call in a report at the city's mall that says that you thought you saw a bomb or a note saying that there's a bomb there."

Winter blinked, her eyes going wide as she realized what she was supposed to do. "And?"

"You don't give any details on your being there, and when the mall evacuates, you _get out_." James said, his voice surprisingly even. "We'll get a fake made for you, and we'll give you a way to plant it there in the building. Nobody will be harmed, but that'll draw police attention long enough that we should at least be able to start the getaway."

Winter nodded. "Anything else?"

James grimaced, because that had just brought them around to the biggest point that needed to be brought up. An ache began to emerge in his right arm, and James even found himself rubbing his elbow through his sleeve as he stood there. "Identical cars."

Silence settled over the group. They all knew what that sort of thing meant, and James didn't quite want to explain much further. The others were surely able to put it together, especially since some of them had been involved in their work in the past and knew how things could go. James would bet money on whoever was on the first job like this one knowing exactly what he meant."

Roman shifted nervously, and Junior gripped his knee at his side. Winter looked around the group, while Glynda just stared straight ahead at him in some sort of disbelief.

James swallowed hard. "We'll be using the identical cars tactic that we used the last time we went after a bank. Just as before, you'll all have a-" James stopped himself, feeling his heart rate beginning to speed up in his chest and leaving him feeling more than just a little bit uncomfortable. He almost felt like he was going to die.

He took a deep breath. "You'll all have bombs strapped into your vehicles and they'll be devoid of anything that makes them easily traceable." James watched the others for any reaction and then continued. "You're going to be driving to distract until we lose the police, then removing threats and making your ways back to the warehouse."

As he spoke, James was careful to begin highlighting paths that they were all going to be taking through the city. Some were shorter than others, and would intersect from time to time, but that was fine. It was inevitable that one of them was going to get pulled over, it was just a matter of making sure that the person that got pulled over would be the one without the money.

Of course, that could be orchestrated easily enough. "We'll have the money split up between everyone, but that shouldn't be such a big deal."

James closed his eyes for a moment before holding his head high again and speaking up. "Once we've all made it back to the warehouse, we'll make our ways back to my house as a base of operations."

James smiled softly finally and looked between the others. "Any questions?"


	65. About Always

The group spent most of their day in that meeting, going over every small detail that could possibly be imagined while also working out other ones. After about four hours into it, Qrow was at a point where he felt like his brain was turning to mush and it was going to end up falling out of his skull. That was the only thing that could explain the sheer amount of _boredom_ that he was feeling. Of course, Qrow figured that if he wasn't in a position where he'd already heard just about everything that had been discussed that day, he wouldn't be feeling that way.

Also, driving a car and carrying things wasn't nearly as involved as what some of the other people were going to be doing. There was a part of Qrow that felt bitter about that, but he couldn't exactly remember why that was the case.

The last thing that James announced to the group before dismissing them was a list of locations and streets to scout, and the announcement that he was still in the process of figuring out codenames. They had a date for their next meeting, conveniently on the next weekend where James wasn't going to have Penny to worry about.

That was a good thing, Qrow thought to himself. Yang's birthday was that weekend, and he couldn't afford to be distracted by work for that. There was too much going on. The good thing was that family was one of the things that the others allowed space for people to work with.

After everyone had slipped out of Roman and Junior's apartment, James and Qrow ended up sticking around for just a little bit longer. They wanted to be able to make sure that everything was packed up, and Qrow was mostly focused on the fact that he really wanted to make sure that the two of them had something to eat before going home. He found himself hanging back and talking to Junior about everything, while James and Roman moved things.

Not much interesting was said, and then the time came for him and James to leave, and so they did.

It was the closing of the elevator door behind him and James that first told Qrow that it was almost possible for him to breathe again.

James leaned back against the elevator wall, and Qrow slid in next to him reaching out for him carefully. "Hey." he murmured. "You feeling okay?"

The taller man looked back over at him with those blue eyes of his and just watched Qrow. "Yeah." James said, finally, his voice almost cracking. Qrow figured that he was mostly just tired. "I kind of want to sleep forever, though."

"I get that." Qrow whispered. He couldn't quite bring himself to look up into James' eyes, but he wanted to get a certain sort of closeness with him. "I wanted to know how you'd feel about getting some takeout on the way back to your place?"

James hesitated, humming quietly. "The place we always get sound good?"

Qrow froze over those words, realizing that there was something about them that he couldn't quite identify. There was something that felt almost coupley about it. It was that ' _always,_ ' Qrow had to guess.

"Yeah-" Qrow finally answered, swallowing hard after the word. "Sounds great."

James was watching him, entirely too closely for his liking. Like he thought that there was something that he was going to be able to find there in Qrow as he stood there. There was something about it that felt almost predatory. Qrow liked it.

"Qrow?" James asked, his voice seeming to drop in volume significantly. "Can I-"

Qrow's eyes widened when he realized what he was being asked. "Yes," He might as well have hissed the word out. "God, yes."

James shifted off of the wall, pressing himself in close towards Qrow and reaching out with his gloved right hand, which soon hooked underneath Qrow's chin to tilt it upwards. Qrow smiled as James lowered his head to press a kiss to his lips.

There was a softness about it, nothing like what it had been the last few times that he and James had been in an elevator and a kiss had been exchanged. Before James would always end up angry at him for making a move, or pushing him away, but this time it was mutual. It was gentle, the kiss of someone seeking comfort rather than being driven by adrenaline like Qrow always was.

It was only natural that it couldn't last forever, Qrow supposed.

James pulled away from him at around the same time that the elevator reached the ground floor and the door was opening. The two of them slipped outside almost silently before going towards James' car so that they could start the ride across town to get food.

They both paused there just outside of the car before James fished his keys out of his pocket and offered them to Qrow. Qrow didn't question it, just took the keys and flashed James a smile. The two of them both climbed into the car, and Qrow was quick to start the vehicle while James began making a phone call so that they would be able to have good waiting for them when they arrived.

It was a fast enough call, and once James was off the phone, Qrow spoke up. "So we're going to have to get up early so that we can drive out to Vale for Yang's party."

"Of course." James answered. "That's no problem." He hesitated, but Qrow didn't look over to try and get a read on how James was doing at the moment. "Any particular reason?"

"Figured it'd be best for us to be there to help Summer and Tai set things up." Qrow shrugged through the words. "With Raven coming it's probably for the best if they have an extra set of hands or two around to help everyone keep their heads on."

"Should we bring anything?" James asked, his voice as stable as ever. "Because I can make something."

Qrow paused, thinking hard on it. "Wouldn't hurt to pick up some soda and chips or something on the way there." He finally said before looking back over at James. "And Penny?"

James hesitated, a certain sour expression crossing his face as he tried to think of something to say to Qrow about it. "She'll be dropped off by her mother, I'd guess." James muttered quietly. "So we'll be meeting her there."

"Does she know you're going to be there?"

"Laurel?" James stared. "No, of course not. Penny does, though."

Qrow smiled softly, knowing that was probably the best that he was going to get out of James. Of course, it was enough to answer a lot of his questions. "So it's just up to us to bring the kid then."

James shrugged. "If we're going to be going up early in the morning, then we just have to bring extra food." He said, his voice so calm that Qrow almost found it eerie. "She'll notice my car, but-" Another shrug.

"But you probably won't have to see her, right?" Qrow smiled widely, watching James carefully.

"Yeah," James agreed quietly. "That's about it."

Qrow began to turn the car off of the road that they were on as they approached the parking lot for the restaurant where their food was bound to be waiting. He parked them just in front, since he was sure that James had a timeline for when their food was going to be ready. "You nervous about it?"

"No," James answered quietly, watching Qrow carefully like he was going to be able to find something there. "Mostly I just want to make it there and just enjoy the day as much as possible."

Qrow blinked, reaching over and resting his hand on James' carefully, wondering whether or not he was pushing a little too far. He knew that they were both hoping for the same thing at the end of the day, but it wasn't a simple thing for them to do or think about. This was a complicated problem.

They both were all too aware of the fact that Raven showing up was going to cause chaos. James didn't say anything to him, just turned his hand slightly so that he could grip Qrow's hand in his own. The two of them sat there for a while, neither saying anything, until there was the sound of an alarm going off.

Food was ready, if the estimate they'd been given when they'd made the order was correct.

James smiled over at Qrow and slipped out of the car to go inside so he'd be able to get their food. That left Qrow alone there, for just a little while. He didn't quite know what he was going to be able to relax while he waited, but he did his best. Qrow just leaned back in his seat slightly and let his eyes close while he waited.

Both of them were nervous about everything that was coming forward. Work, the party, everything. All at once, it occurred to Qrow that if he was going to be going down to Vale for Yang's party he was going to be expected to stay there. In the end, he didn't really want to leave James to drive back to Atlas alone.

He shifted slightly and reached down into his pocket so that he could fish out his phone and begin typing out a message to Taiyang and Summer. He knew what he could do to make this work, and it was just a matter of getting there. The message that he sent was simple, just asking whether or not Taiyang and Summer would be opposed to James staying there for a night.

Besides, it wasn't like it was something that they'd never done something like this before. They couldn't pretend like James was a bad guest when they knew that wasn't the case.

Qrow paused as he put his phone away. The last time that James had stayed there at the Xiao Long-Rose house for a night, it had been rough. He and James weren't quite getting along just yet. But now things were different, to the point where they'd shared a bed and slept side by side with each other.

Now they were close, and that in a way was the biggest culture shock imaginable. Months ago, Qrow would never have even considered this.

The door to the store opened, and James came out with a large bag of food in his arms. Qrow waited while James set the bag down on top of the car before opening the door and climbed in beside him. Qrow smiled back over at James and started his car so that he could go. "Hey, Jim." Qrow said once the two of them were on the road back towards the house. "I realized that tomorrow's going to run late."

James sighed heavily, shifting in his seat and nodding. "Most likely," He murmured quietly. "I'll be fine."

"I asked Tai and Summer if they'd be opposed to you crashing there for the night."

"Oh." James went almost silent at that. "Have they answered?"

"Not yet," Qrow admitted with a sigh of his own. "I just sent the message off on my own, figured it was best to check ahead of time."

"Thank you." James smiled back at him, a genuine sort of smile that Qrow wasn't used to. "I don't know if I'm going to end up staying, but it's… really, too kind of you to ask for that on my behalf."

Qrow shrugged. "I thought this was just something I could do for you." He paused, knowing that there was a certain sort of elephant in the room that needed to be be addressed. The fact was that he was, in a way, just paying James back for so many nights where James had given him a place to rest for a night or two.

It only made sense that Qrow would do this for James now.

"I'll be sure to get things together in case I…" James paused, weighing the next word so carefully that Qrow could have sworn that it would have shattered if it was mishandled. "In case I decide that I want to spend the night there."

Qrow shrugged. "My couch is yours."

James rolled his eyes and laughed quietly. "Funny, I thought it was Summer and Taiyang's couch."

Qrow couldn't help but laugh in response, there was such a lightness that filled the car with them that he wasn't quite used to getting with James. "I mean…" He shook his head. "It is, but I'm usually the one on it." He shrugged. "When I'm not at your place, at least."

James just smiled back at him, eyes impossibly soft. "Yeah, well." James shrugged slightly, and Qrow couldn't help but to be blown away how lax James was in comparison to how he'd been earlier. Maybe it was because the meeting had been so rough that James just needed to feel like he could relax again, just for a little bit. Qrow couldn't blame him for that.

"I like being at your place." Qrow mumbled as he turned onto the road that was going to carry them across the city to James' house. "It's really nice, you know?"

"I guess," James said, his voice coming out as a too-heavy sigh, like there was something stuck in his chest that he wasn't going to be able to escape. Qrow had a feeling that he knew what it was about. Anyone who spent even a little bit of time at James' house would be able to figure out that it was too big for just one person. Anyone would recognize that loneliness that seemed to cling to every surface. "It's nice enough."

Qrow couldn't help a slight pang of guilt that ran through him over those words. He and James both knew fully well that once this job was over and James was leaving, then that house was going to be as empty as it had been before. James was bitter- why wouldn't he be? The fight to get Penny was probably going to be a long one.

With that in mind, it seemed like the best thing that Qrow could do for James was just be there for him and stay as present as possible. It wasn't going to be for a long time, maybe a month more, but for that time he could at least try to help.

The rest of the drive to James' house was mostly quiet. The two of them got home, James checked the door to make sure that Ozpin hadn't broken in again, and then they made their way to the living room for a meal. Despite the meeting early that day, it was more comfortable than it ever should have been.

There was a domestic familiarity that had fallen over the situation, and Qrow wasn't quite sure how to feel about it. He'd never thought that he'd be interested in that sort of thing, but with James it felt right. Not that he could say that to James, who he still expected would bolt after something like that even now.

But eventually it was time for the two of them to go to bed, and Qrow found himself curled in beside James and listening to his friend's quiet breathing until he finally fell asleep for himself.


	66. Mother

The moment that James and Qrow arrived at the Xiao Long-Rose house, everyone was already awake, excited, and bustling. There were no signs of any guests showing up just yet, but Taiyang and Summer both looked like they had their hands full. As a result, James and Qrow split off from each other, with James going to help Summer and Taiyang get things set up (his height made hanging a pinata easy enough.)

That meant that for Qrow, it was time to go and check in on the kids.

When he found Ruby and Yang, the two of them were in the backyard, kicking around a ball and taking turns playing goalkeeper for the other while Zwei nipped at their heels. The two of them looked happy as anything, and Qrow couldn't help but to smile as he watched the two of them.

Right now, Yang had the ball, and was doing her best to weave around the dog so that she could get over towards Ruby, who was standing in front of a sheet that had been suspended from Summer and Taiyang's clothesline and weighted down by a rock. No doubt, it was Taiyang's handiwork that had fashioned them a serviceable goal. Qrow remembered that when he and Raven were that young, their goals had always been tipped over trash cans. This was much better by far.

Ruby saw him and lost focus of the game between her and her sister. She shrieked his name and left the net, leaving Yang to score a goal before coming over his way too.

"Qrow!" Yang said excitedly, half-flinging herself over at him. Qrow opened his arms to catch her, and managed to, though he had to take a step back with it. He swing his niece around for just a moment before setting her down. Yang stared up at him with those mischievous violet eyes of hers. "I thought you said you weren't coming."

"Yeah, well, you know I lie." Qrow answered, ruffling Yang's hair and earning a well-deserved pout, since he knew that Yang hated having her golden locks messed with. "I didn't want to miss out on your birthday, firecracker."

The girl smiled widely and stepped in close to him. "You brought me presents, right?"

"Of course I brought you presents." He answered, smiling. "What kind of uncle would I be?"

"The worst kind." Yang smiled and looked him up and down, like she was trying to figure something out about him. Her eyes squinted, and Qrow couldn't help but to raise his hands in play-surrender, since he was pretty sure that he hadn't done anything wrong. "What's up, firecracker."

"Just making sure you're still my uncle." Yang said, stepping in again to wrap her arms around his waist and give him a squeeze. Qrow just hugged her as close as he could manage and let Yang linger there for a moment. Quietly, she whispered. "I thought you really weren't going to come."

"Nah," Qrow said, looking down at Yang. "Me and your parents have had a rough patch lately, but we weren't going to let that ruin this for you." He felt guilty, because he knew that it wasn't going to be enough to make Yang feel better about this, but he had to at least try. "I wasn't going to miss you."

"Thanks," Yang finally said, pulling away and her eyes looking a little bit watery, something that Qrow hadn't been expecting. "So, where have you been?"

"Atlas." Qrow said, taking a seat at one of the chairs on the patio next to Taiyang's grill. "With James, same as usual." He shrugged slightly. "I should see about bringing you kids out there sometime, let you see the big city."

Yang rolled her eyes a little bit and finally pulled away from Qrow properly. "It's not that big."

"It's bigger than Vale." Qrow answered, smiling down at his nieces. "C'mon, you've got a big day ahead of you-"

"And?" Yang followed after him closely as he turned to head inside of the house again. "What about it?"

"Well-" Qrow laughed quietly. "I wanted to make breakfast for my favorite nieces but if that's not allowed-"

Ruby seemed to bounce along to Qrow's side. "Can you make us pancakes?" She asked, blinking and smiling widely up at him. "With chocolate chips?"

Instead of answering Ruby, Qrow decided to just look over at Yang so that she could have a moment where she could confirm whether or not that was something that she was okay with or not. It was her birthday, and so everything was going to be up to her. "What do you think, firecracker?"

"If I get bacon with it, I'm cool." Yang answered, smiling widely as the three of them edged their way into the kitchen where it looked like James and Summer were fussing over something horribly mundane like plates for the day ahead.

Summer straightened up and looked between her daughters and then at Qrow. "You need something?"

"Just the stove." Qrow answered with a slight shrug. "Wanted to get some breakfast into these two."

Summer smiled and shook her head. "Very well," She stepped away from the counter to make room for the girls, and James politely did the same. "And what is for breakfast today, our beloved uncle Qrow?"

He smiled. "The girls wanted pancakes and bacon."

Instead of saying anything else, Summer just smiled sweetly and nodded. "We'll leave you to it." With that, she was gone, slipping out of the kitchen, and James followed after closely. With that done, it meant that it was up to Qrow to get to making sure that everyone was fed.

Qrow didn't say anything else to them, just began to get things out of the fridge and pantry so that he could make the girls their breakfast before finally speaking up. "Yang-" he asked. "Want to help me out with the batter?"

He watched the girl closely, and couldn't help the way that it felt a little bit like his heart was going to explode when he saw how widely she smiled. Yang hopped down from her chair and then she stepped up next to Qrow with a stool to stand on. Soon, she was up on it and was almost at his chest level.

"Alright!" Yang exclaimed, smiling cockily. "Let's do this."

Qrow didn't say anything else to Yang, just set a large bowl down in front of her and some ingredients. "I'm gonna let you lead if you want to."

Yang blinked and looked between Qrow and the bowl before smiling a bit more widely. "You think I can do it?"

"I know you can do it." Qrow laughed. "You want to do this or not?"

Yang shot a quick glare over in Qrow's direction but it was soon to drop. "Of course I want to do this." She reached out for the box of pancake mix, turning it over in her hands until she found the directions. While she did that, Qrow began to get down a set of skillets so that he'd be able to do his par and get them warmed up.

First, he was going to have to make sure that the bacon was going to cook on the side furthest from Yang to make sure that she didn't get splattered with fat. He reached out and turned on the burners, giving the stovetop a chance to heat up before turning to face Yang and help her again. She seemed to be doing well enough, tearing the bag open easily enough while Qrow just waited at her side.

"So, Uncle Qrow?" Yang spoke up.

"Yeah, kiddo?"

She blinked and turned to face him again, for just a second. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course you can." Qrow answered. He looked back over his shoulder to see that Ruby was still there, but she was waving her hands and entertaining Zwei, who was sitting in front of her. "You want to say it alone?"

Yang nodded slowly.

Alright, Qrow could handle that.

"Hey, Ruby!" Qrow called, trying to get the girl's attention on her. Ruby's head snapped up soon enough and tilted slightly as she watched him. Once he had her attention, Qrow spoke again. "Why don't you go see whether or not your dad needs help decorating or something? It's gonna be a bit before things are ready anyways."

Ruby blinked with those wide silver eyes over hers, gaze straying from Qrow to Yang before she shrugged. "Alright!" She called before stepping up to Qrow and Ruby and waving a finger in both of their directions. "You better let me know when food is ready."

"Yeah," Qrow laughed. "We will."

Ruby snapped a sloppy salute in his direction, and then she was off on her way. That left Qrow and Yang alone, and so the two of them were finally going to be able to talk things over.

"What is it, firecracker?" Qrow asked finally, dropping his volume dangerously low.

"I just..." Yang stared down at the bowl in front of her, spoon in hand slowing with the motion. "Is it true that she's not my mom?"

Qrow's heart sank. It plummeted so far into the pit of his stomach, and it confirmed to him that Yang had either overheard something or that Taiyang and Summer had told her. In which case, that was something that Qrow wished he was there for but it didn't seem like it could be helped.

Whatever he chose to say next had to be chosen exceptionally carefully.

"Biologically, yeah, it's true." Qrow finally said, keeping his voice as quiet as he could manage, partially out of gentleness and partially out of habit. "But that doesn't mean that much, okay?"

Yang blinked and looked back up at him. "Qrow?"

"Summer raised you and she loves you a lot." Qrow said softly. "More than you know."

"But-"

Qrow swallowed. "Does her not being your biological mom change anything about how you feel towards her?"

Yang paused, seemingly weighing her answer just as carefully as Qrow was. "I don't know." Yang finally answered, looking like her eyes were beginning to tear up. "It's-"

"Hey," Qrow reached out and gently pulled Yang in close. "It's okay. But this doesn't take away anything that you've had with her, and it doesn't change it unless you want it to. I know to her you're still hers, no matter what."

Down in his chest, there was something that was making Qrow feel terrible for having to have this conversation with Yang. The kid didn't need this. The kid had never needed this, and he was ending up as the messenger for it.

If only Raven hadn't run off at the beginning, then he never would have had to do this.

Qrow hated himself for thinking about it that way.

He set down the pack of bacon that he was working with in front of him and just turned his full attention onto Yang, who had also abandoned any work that she was doing in favor of the conversation at hand. Qrow couldn't even imagine what this was doing to the kid having to talk about this stuff.

Yang looked so sad. He wanted to scoop her up like he used to when she was a toddler and he was around and hold her close until she felt better. But she was ten now, Qrow had to remind himself. She needed to be allowed to stand on her own.

Her grip around his waist tightened. "Why would they hide it?"

Qrow sighed heavily, petting her soft yellow hair down. "To keep you safe. I know that's not what you want to hear right now, but trust me..." His heart sank further. "We wanted to tell you when we thought you were ready."

Yang released him, raising the back of her hand so that she could brush away her tears. "So my mother-"

"Yeah," Qrow answered. "Her name is Raven."

"Raven." Yang repeated the name, and it sounded foreign on her lips. It felt wrong after so many years of Raven being away. "She's your sister, right?"

"Twin, actually." Qrow replied. He took a deep breath and stared down at his right hand, adorned with three rings as it was. Two silver and one black and set off from the others. It had been his way of reminding himself of the people he kept close to him. Idly, Qrow found himself reaching over to spin the black ring. "There's something I need to tell you, Yang."

Yang's expression sank. "What... is it?"

"There's a chance that she's coming by today." Qrow explained as calmly as he could manage, hoping that it was going to be enough. He had to expect that he was going to need to answer some questions about it, but that was inevitable. And besides, Yang deserved to hear some answers. "And if she does-" He swallowed. "Don't feel like you have to face her alone, okay?"

Yang stared off into space, her lip trembling. "You'll be there with me?"

"If you want it, sure." Qrow shrugged. "Summer and your dad would even be there for you if you asked. In fact-" He swallowed. "I'm sure that they'd want to be there."

"So she's..." Yang sighed heavily, sounding too tired for someone so small. "So she's coming."

"Maybe. And if she does-," Qrow replied. "Nobody's going to force you to see her one on one. If you want to stick by me or your parents-" Qrow knew he should have bit his tongue before dropping that word, all things considered. He shouldn't have used parents when Summer and Raven seemed to be a sensitive topic right now. "Well, we'll be there for you all day."

Yang looked back over her shoulder at the door to the kitchen like she was checking that they were alone. Thankfully, nobody was there. "What about Ruby?"

That was a question that hadn't really been asked much over the course of this whole process. "I don't know." He mumbled finally. "We've been more worried about you." He looked back down at the slab of bacon in front of him, knowing that they needed to get cooking if this was going to work. Carefully, he waved a hand over the skillet to see if it was still hot. "This is going to be hard, kid. I'm not going to sugarcoat that."

Yang nodded slowly, realizing that she had work to do of her own. She stared down into that bowl of ingredients in front of her, and then she went back to work following the box directions. She went quiet for a little while, and then spoke up again, drawing Qrow's attention back over to her. "Are you happy she's coming back?"

"I don't know." Qrow murmured as he got out a plate and covered it over with a couple paper towels so that there'd be a place for the bacon to dry. "It depends on how things go with you and your parents."

Yang blinked. "You-"

"Look," Qrow began slowly. "When Raven... well, _left_ , it hurt a lot of people. More than you know. Your dad was heartbroken. Summer was having a hard time keeping him together."

"And you?"

Qrow shook his head, since this was the one thing that he'd never have to breach. Summer and Taiyang had tried so hard to protect Yang from some of the evils of the situation, and now it felt like he had to be the one to shatter some of it. "We'll just say it hurt me pretty bad." Qrow mumbled. The girls had never seen him so drunk that he couldn't move, he had to remind himself. They'd seen him hungover, but they'd never seen him so utterly ruined that he didn't know who he was anymore.

The kids didn't know how bad he got.

"Do you think she'll like me?" Yang whispered another question, and Qrow decided that the best thing he could do was roll with it.

"You want my honest answer?" Qrow asked, watching Yang.

"Uh, yeah." Yang snapped back at him, some playfulness on her voice.

"Raven..." Qrow paused. "Raven doesn't really like anyone until she gets to know them. But you're different. You're special. She and I would talk sometimes, and a lot of the time she'd ask about you. Just wanting to know how you're doing." He shrugged. "I think she already loves you, just in her own way."

"So why did she-"

"I don't know." Qrow cut Yang off before she could finish asking the question. "Nobody really knows." He sighed heavily. "All that I can ask you is… to try not to judge her. I know that's going to be hard, but I just want you to try. For me. Raven and I have…" His gaze flicked away. "We've both been through a lot. And she was hurting really bad around the time you were born." He shook his head. "She's been afraid of this for a long time."

"But..." Yang started, looking so confused that she couldn't quite think of something that she wanted to say to him. Qrow couldn't blame her for that. "Why would she be afraid?"

"She burned a lot of bridges when she left, kiddo." Qrow said, keeping his voice down as best as he could. There wasn't any better way that they could address this. "It's not about you, I don't think. Sometimes people get things stuck in their heads that they can't stop."

Yang took a deep breath and her eyes seemed to slip shut. It was like she was doing her best to remind herself that things would be fine if she stuck around, but Qrow didn't know if it would be enough. He didn't really know whether anything would ever be enough for Yang to feel better.

After all, this was supposed to be a happy day for them, not a sad one. This was Yang's birthday, and Qrow couldn't quite convince himself that they were going to end up in a situation that didn't make keeping things happy and light possible. No matter what, Raven was coming, and they didn't know what they were going to do from there.

Qrow was ready to do everything in his power to be able to hold the kid together if they needed to.

"You're going to be okay," Qrow finally spoke up, somewhat out of the blue. "Sometimes bad things just happen, and that's just how life is." He swallowed. This wasn't enough. It was never going to be enough. "Sometimes bad things just happen, and we don't have any control over them. "

"Why are you saying that?" Yang asked, blinking and looking back up at him with those purple eyes still looking a bit watery. The girl slid the bowl of batter over in Qrow's direction. He took it silently and stirred it a few more times just to check it before he began to pour batter out onto the hot skillet.

"Well," Qrow thought hard, hopeful that they'd find a good end for this. "Because it's true." He paused. "Raven ran off on the family, that's true, but she's not... some sort of monster. I know it's hard to hear and probably isn't what you want to hear, but it's true. Sometimes bad things happen."

Yang nodded slowly, watching the pancake batter in the skillet as it began to cook and bubble. "You think this is going to be okay?"

"More or less." Qrow shrugged, leaning against the counter with his hip and watching the cooking food just the same. "I think it's going to be hard, but I also believe that you and everyone else are going to be okay in the long run." He smiled softly, eyes flicking up to Yang.

She had her mother's hair, but Taiyang's color. She had Raven's smile, Raven's eye shape. This girl was a Branwen, through and through, she just didn't look the part in the same way that he and Raven did. He was sure that he was going to love this little girl until the day that he died.

"You really mean that?"

"Yeah," Qrow barely said the word over a whisper. "I do, firecracker."

For the first time since he'd first arrived that morning, Yang smiled and it looked genuine. She raised her hand to brush some tears away from her eyes, and straightened up. She stood up tall and reached back to fix her ponytail, gently tugging at the ends for a moment.

Yeah, Qrow thought to himself, Yang was going to be okay.


	67. Clash

After feeding the kids their breakfast, Qrow fell in with the other adults making sure that everything was in order for the day ahead. He was already feeling a little bit emotionally exhausted after talking to Yang about the possible things that were ahead of her that day, but that was fine because it needed to be done. The other kids were going to be arriving soon and eventually Raven would be arriving… possibly.

And yeah, _that_ was something that Qrow couldn't stop worrying about in particular. He hadn't heard a word from Raven about whether or not she was still coming. In theory, she wasn't even going to be arriving for the party itself. If that happened, then Qrow figured he was going to have to talk to Taiyang and Summer about that, and then they were going to have to talk to Yang about it as a family.

Qrow didn't like that. The kid was already in enough of a spiral as things were, and now it seemed like he wasn't going to be able to get her past it alone if something else came up.

He felt like he just needed a chance to be able to breathe, just for a little while.

The good thing was that the others had managed to get everything set up for the most part, and Taiyang and Summer were off in the backyard getting the grill moved so that there was room for people to sit. James had needed some quiet and a chance to sit down, and so Qrow found himself in Summer and Taiyang's kitchen with James.

It seemed like he wasn't the only one nervous about the day ahead of them.

The only thing was that Qrow couldn't quite figure out what had James worried aside from the fact that his ex wife was going to be there. It occurred to Qrow for a moment that it was possible that James was worried for him. But it also was too likely that James was worried about how Raven showing up was going to affect the general atmosphere.

If was probably about Penny.

Or maybe it was just a matter of James having pain show up and trying hard to hide it from people.

That was how James tended to be.

"Hey." Qrow said quietly, taking a seat next to James. "How're-"

"I could ask you the same." James replied. "It seemed like you got really caught up in work there."

"Yeah, well." Qrow shrugged. "The kid needed my help."

James nodded slowly, keeping his eyes down before slowly looking up at Qrow as calmly as ever. "Well, it was good of you to look after her."

"Are you okay, Jim?"

"Yeah." James replied with a slight shrug. "Just needed to rest for a little while before things got going."

Qrow laughed quietly, hoping that it would be enough to break some of the tension but also sure that it wasn't going to be enough. "Yeah, well, can't blame you there." He said quietly, watching James and hoping that he'd be able to find some sort of comfort there at some point. They were both scared.

It felt like the only ones in the entire house that weren't somehow afraid were Ruby and Zwei.

When the ones that weren't worried were a young child and a dog, that was saying something.

"Are you going to be okay?" James asked, looking up at Qrow with pure earnestness in his eyes. "I know-"

"Yeah, I hope so." Qrow murmured. He slid in close next to James, knowing that it was probably a big much for him to do. After all, it was one thing to be themselves when they had Roman and Junior around. It was something else entirely when it came to Taiyang and Summer and the kids.

James didn't seem to have the best rapport with them so far, despite the fact that he slid in easily enough with them. BUt it was James, the guy didn't seem to trust so easily.

"If things get bad, you'll just go down to Atlas I'm guessing?"

"Probably." James replied. "It'll get figured out. I just don't want to intrude on your family matters."

"You aren't-" Qrow began but was quickly cut off by the sound of a knock at the door. He swallowed hard, worrying already about who that could be. Carefully, Qrow walked over to the window to check the small driveway that Taiyang and Summer had in front of their house. Sitting there, was a motorcycle.

That put Qrow on high alert immediately.

Raven was at the door.

He snapped his head over his shoulder to see James. "Get Summer and Tai." He ordered. Without a word, James slipped off, and that left Qrow to get the door and greet his sister for the first time. It had been a long time since she'd last been through that door, Qrow reminded himself.

He didn't know that he wanted to do this, but he was going to have to.

With a deep breath, Qrow pulled the door open.

Raven was there, dressed in her usual jacket and jeans, and Qrow was willing to bet that she was wearing one of her t shirts under the jacket. Aside from that, she wore some sunglasses and her hair was tied back in a ponytail.

Just like Yang.

"Hey Rae." Qrow greeted her with his voice hushed. "They're-"

"They've cleaned the place up." Raven commented as she took the first step inside and pulled off her jacket. She reached into the pocket and removed a can of beer, which she quickly passed off to Qrow. "Looks nice."

"Yeah, well, it's been awhile since you were last here." Qrow replied as calmly as he could as he began to walk over towards the kitchen so that he could stow away his drink. "Jim was getting them."

"Does she know?"

"Yeah," Qrow answered. "Talked to Yang about you this morning while we made breakfast."

"And?"

"She's not happy." Qrow replied, turning to face Raven and just watch her for a little while. "I swear to god, if you fuck this up-"

"Qrow." Raven's eyes narrowed and she looked like she was ready to snarl at him. "You-"

"Raven?"

Taiyang's voice was the thing that stopped the Branwen twins from breaking into an argument. Both of their faces snapped over to him, and Qrow decided then that he couldn't take a side on this. If he did, it would only end in disaster for them. He needed to stick by his morals even if it got him killed.

He couldn't risk further splitting their family.

Raven turned, and she stared between the two people in the doorway. There was Taiyang, standing there and looking somewhat dumbstruck. Summer stood behind him, watching Raven just as closely. If Qrow had to guess, she was tearing up. Actually, that was probably wrong. If one of them was tearing up, it was Tai.

"Yeah," Raven replied, her voice as hard as ever as she slipped her hands down into her pockets. "Tai." Her red eyes flicked to Summer. "Summer."

"You uh..." Taiyang tried to start, but seemed to trip on his words. Qrow leaned back against a counter, crossing his arms over his chest and hoping he would have to intervene. "You look good." Taiyang finally managed to finish, and the nonchalance he was attempting for fell flat.

"Yeah," Raven answered. "I know." Her eyes flicked over him. She was already finding the best ways to unravel Taiyang. Qrow knew her too well. She was already finding ever hinge and every way that she could break the man down in a second. It wasn't a good thing. It was what she was going to do if Raven decided she needed to run.

"So uh..." Taiyang paused, eyes flicking down to the ground sadly. "You're here to meet Yang, aren't you."

"Yeah," Raven replied. "Mostly."

"Mostly?" Summer spoke up, taking a step forward and looking like she was ready to fight or attack. Qrow knew that if he had to he would be able to stop her physically. For now, it was best for her to speak. "What the hell does that mean!?"

"It means I'm mostly here to see Yang." Raven replied, expression schooled into iciness. "Don't take it personally."

"You've been gone for _ten years_ and you expect us not to take it personally?" Summer snapped. "Who the hell are you-"

"Look." Raven spoke up, keeping her voice as hard as ever. "This is probably a one time thing." She shrugged, leaning against the counter next to Qrow. Something about it was enough to make Qrow's skin crawl, and he didn't know why. "Don't ruin it for all of us."

"Look, Rae-" Taiyang spoke again, stupidly using a nickname that Qrow could guess he didn't technically have the right to use anymore. "It's just... been a long time." He shrugged. "Can't we catch up?"

"No." Raven replied. "There's nothing to talk about."

"What do you mean there's-"

"Nothing of interest, Taiyang." Raven replied before Taiyang could say anything else.

"Right." Taiyang said sadly. "Do you want to just..."

"Get this over with?" Raven finished for Taiyang before he got a chance to do it himself. "No, not really."

He tried not to let his lips quirk in any frustration. What Taiyang had said was true, and Qrow hadn't given Yang a full story about Raven because to give that would have taken forever. It would also have required him to give up a bit more about himself than he would have liked. He swallowed hard and crossed his arms over his chest, obviously defensive.

"I told the kid what I could." He replied to Raven as calmly as he could possibly manage for that little while. "I had the time that I was making breakfast with her to tell her things."

Raven looked more than just a little bit frustrated with him, and that was something that Qrow knew that he should have been expecting out of his sister. But she didn't say anything else to him. She just shook her head and focused on Taiyang again. "Why aren't you preparing her then?"

"I don't know," Taiyang's eyes narrowed and he took a step forward in the first outward show in anger. "Maybe it has to do with the fact that you didn't give us any time to-"

"Tai." Qrow spoke up, knowing that it probably wasn't for the best if he did this, but he needed to. Someone had to actually try to steer what was happening to make it as painless as possible. And that was going to have to be him, by the looks of things. Summer, Taiyang, and Raven were too likely to just bicker instead.

"Yeah?"

Qrow swallowed hard and looked down at the floor in front of him, deciding to focus on one spot there so that he could keep his head straight. It was a way for him to avoid getting bogged down by the people next to him. This was going to hurt for a lot of people. This was going to probably end up being one of the worst days of a lot of people's lives.

The fact that James had come with him was a great relief. It meant that they were going to be able to keep Ruby away from the hurts for a while. She was going to have to be alone with James, but he'd never seen any sign that Ruby didn't like the guy. And James seemed like he liked kids more than he did most people.

Ruby would be safe.

"I think we should just do this." Qrow said finally, picking his head up and looking between the other three. He knew that they were all staring at him, and he couldn't be surprised by that. "Yang's a tough kid, and I think she can do this." He grimaced slightly, and he knew that they were all able to see it. "She isn't the only one going through this. And this isn't about the three of you."

Qrow knew fully well that he'd gotten to be a bit more intense and harsh than he probably needed to be. That didn't matter. It had felt necessary, and so Qrow felt no shame for it. "This is about _Yang_. And we need to be there for _her._ " For what was probably the first time that day, Qrow turned his attention onto Raven. "If you three want to fight, you're going to need to find a better time for it."

All three of his friends went silent, and Qrow knew that was something that he'd needed to expect. He waited, for as long as he needed to, and then Summer spoke up. "Qrow's right." She said, sounding entirely resigned to the situation. The woman turned to speak to Taiyang, who just nodded in understanding. Raven even nodded, although she looked entirely bitter about the whole ordeal.

"Alright then." Qrow said, finally pushing off from the counter and making his way out of the kitchen. "I'm going to get Yang. You three just..." It occurred to Qrow for just a moment that leaving the three of them in a room full of knives was probably a bad idea. "Just don't kill each other at a ten year old's birthday party."

With those words, he slipped out of the kitchen and made his way to the backyard, where Ruby and Yang were at play, while James watched them quietly. He started by nudging James for a moment. "Hey," Qrow said quietly. "I need you to do something for me."

James looked up at him. "What is it? "

"She's here. Do you think that you can just..." He looked at Ruby. "Take the kid and get her out of here for a bit. Just... keep her safe from this for a little while."

"Sure," James said quietly. "Of course."

Well, with that, things were mostly in order, and so Qrow was able to keep going. "Yang!" He called. "C'mon."

Yang's expression sank almost immediately. She hugged Ruby quickly before making her way over to Qrow and hugging him as well. Qrow just pat her hair down as gently as he could manage. "Ruby!" He called, and the younger of the two sisters was there quickly enough, Zwei at her heels.

"Yeah, Uncle Qrow?"

Qrow glanced over at James out of the corner of his eye and earned a nod, permission granted. "James offered to take you to get a present for Yang." Qrow said, sincerely hoping that he was going to be able to get Ruby to agree. Lucky for him, her eyes seemed to light up as she turned to face James. "Really?"

"Really really." James answered, quietly. "C'mon." Ruby nodded and seemed to bounce off behind James as the two of them went out into the parking long. Qrow heard the sound of a car pull in and cringed internally at the sound. He then heard James talking to someone, a woman's voice, and then Penny.

That was good.

That was a good enough cover.

There were car doors closing, and then the sounds of two cars pulling out of the driveway. That meant that it was down to him and Yang now.

Qrow looked down at her. She already looked terrified, and Qrow couldn't blame her for that for a second. Nobody in their right mind would blame her for being nervous about this. "You ready?"

"She's there?"

"Yeah," Qrow answered. "With your dad and Summer."

Yang's lip seemed to wobble for a second, and when she reached for Qrow's hand, he just took hers. The least that he could do was help the kid stay calm for a little bit. "You're going to be there?"

"Yeah," Qrow whispered. "The entire time."

Yang nodded and seemed to try to harden herself over. She stood up tall and held her head high before tugging at Qrow's hand and leading the two of them inside. Qrow followed after, somewhere between terrified and proud. Once in awhile, he'd run his thumb over Yang's knuckles to keep her calm.

When they got inside, Taiyang beckoned them into the large bedroom that was his and Summer's.

Qrow didn't go in until Yang was ready.


	68. The Talk

Taiyang and Summer's bedroom looked different from the last few times that Qrow had been there. For one, Taiyang and Summer had moved some chairs into the room, and the two of them and Raven had decided to take them. That meant that the bed was reserved for him and Yang, while Tai and Summer sat with their backs to the dresser on the wall with the mirror. Raven sat off to the side in almost neutral territory.

Qrow wasn't sure how he felt about all of that, but he was willing to do whatever he needed to keep Yang happy. He gestured to the bed, and Yang seemed like she was getting more and more nervous by the second. She had frozen in place, staring Raven down in search of something that Qrow couldn't quite identify.

Qrow gently tugged her hand and she nodded, slipping away from him and climbing up into the bed, where Qrow took a seat next to her. It was barely even a minute before Zwei was there, hopping up onto the bed and joining Yang by lying in her lap. Qrow reached out and scratched behind one of the Corgi's ears as a silent _'good dog_.'

The room was silent for a moment. Taiyang looked over at Qrow. "Where's-"

"James took her to get presents." Qrow answered, not even needing for Taiyang to finish. "He's smart, and he's got Penny with them. They won't come back unless I tell them it's safe."

"Thanks, Qrow." Taiyang replied seeming to relax finally before looking over at Yang, who was anxiously petting Zwei and watching Raven like she was prey about to be attacked. "Yang, we have someone we want-"

"I know." Yang replied, still watching Raven. "You're-"

"Your mother." Raven replied, cutting Yang off before the girl could even finish. Qrow knew that he tensed up visibly at that, but he couldn't act on it. No matter how mad Raven made him, he couldn't act. He was there to keep Yang calm. After all, he had a feeling that when it came to hiding secrets from her, he might be the one with the least blowback. Maybe. "Yes, I am."

"You-" Yang's brow furrowed, and her hands balled into fists so quickly that the only thing Qrow could think when he saw them was _dangerous._ She was ready to fight, and while Qrow was proud of Yang for that, he was nervous. "Why would you-"

"That doesn't matter." Raven replied, hardening in the same way that she always did. Qrow wanted to reach out and slap her for it. "I'm here _now_."

"But you..." Yang's brow furrowed further and her purple eyes narrowed dangerously, in the same way that Raven's would then. Qrow couldn't help but think the kid had more of her mother in her than she'd realized. A temper and stubbornness being the big things. "You left me-"

"I did what I had to do, Yang." Raven replied, somehow almost sounding calm. "It wasn't safe for me to stay with you."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Yang jolted forward, looking ready to fight. Qrow knew that he should have reached out to stop her, but he didn't. Right now, the dog was acting as a seatbelt of sorts, and Qrow didn't want to be the one intervening in that. Zwei was likely to stay there until something spooked him.

Zwei was a good dog like that.

Raven glanced between Qrow and Yang, like she was trying to find the right thing to say but wasn't quite able to find it. It was something that had to be expected, if nothing else. Of course, Taiyang and Summer were just as closely focused on Raven as Yang was.

Maybe this was going to be their once chance to get a good idea about what Raven's reasons for leaving had been.

But Raven didn't give specific answers, because that wasn't something that she would present so easily. "It means that it wasn't safe." Raven repeated. "I wasn't trying to hurt any of you, I just needed to know that you were all safe."

"But you did." Yang replied. She was tearing up, and Qrow just reached over to place a reassuring hand on her shoulder for just a second. She looked back up at him for a second and nodded before focusing back in on Raven. "You left, I-" She swallowed, voice cracking. "I just found out that my mom isn't my mom. Why are you here?"

Qrow and Summer's eyes met rather quickly, and neither of them said anything to each other. Summer was clutching Taiyang's hand a little too hard by the looks of things. Qrow knew that this had to be hard for both of them, especially for Summer since it was too likely that this was going to be hard. It probably felt like she was being pushed out to some degree.

Raven stood up though, striding over to where Yang was sitting in a motion that was far too bold. Qrow knew that he was tensing more and more, ready to step in if he felt the need to. He needed to be able to protect Yang, no matter what the price was.

" _Raven_." Qrow growled.

"Let me talk to my daughter, _brother._ " The word bit too deeply. Qrow didn't let it throw him off.

"I'm not going to let you hurt my niece, Raven."

"You're not going to-" Raven started, and in that moment, Qrow was actually sure that he might have been about to die. Of course, there was no telling for sure, but Qrow could have been sure. "Qrow, what are you talking about?"

"Me?" Qrow asked. "I'm looking after the kid."

"I see that." Raven replied, her eyes narrowing significantly. Qrow was ready to fight if he ended up needing to. He didn't think that he was going to be able to beat Raven in a fight, but Qrow needed to be ready either way. "I'm not here to hurt her though."

Qrow's eyes flicked over to Yang, who was watching Raven and him closely. She looked like she was doing her best to keep things together. "Yeah, you aren't." Qrow replied. "Keep it that way." He growled the words out, channeling James as much as he could because he needed to be able to do something. Normally he wouldn't have gone for something like that, but this was different. One of his nieces were involved.

Raven rolled her eyes and pulled them away from Qrow, who was careful not to drop his glare. Instead of watching Qrow, she looked down at Yang, who stared up at her with a fire in her eyes. Yeah, she was Raven's kid alright. Tai's too.

"You've grown."

"Yeah." Yang answered with a deadpan. "I have." She pulled her eyes away from Raven and glared down at her tiny fists as they sat in her lap. " _Why are you here_?"

That was enough to make the entire room go silent. Raven's veneer of strength seemed to break all at once, her eyes widening slightly. She actually seemed taken aback, and it even looked like Raven was searching for an answer herself. There had to be something that they could have done to make this situation easier but...

Qrow's eyes met Summer's. They both glanced over at Taiyang, who sighed and stood up before taking a step forward and speaking up. "Yang." Taiyang said, drawing Raven and Yang's attention back over to him quickly. "Mind if I speak up for a second?"

"Dad?"

Taiyang paused, and Summer got up a moment later. She took a few steps forward to Taiyang's side and Qrow watched as they laced their fingers together in a gentle grasp. "Your mother left us... a long time ago." He explained, keeping his voice as even as he could. "And when she left, it broke our hearts. Summer and I... your Uncle-" Yang snapped her head over in Qrow's direction, eyes still wide.

Taiyang swallowed hard and continued speaking. "We'd been hoping that we'd be able to bring you up with all four of us. As a family." Tai's blue eyes met with Raven's red. Neither of them broke their gaze. "But your mother left, and the three of us had to stop and pick up the pieces."

His soft eyes turned onto his daughter. Qrow just reached out and wrapped his arms around Yang, hugging her gently because he wanted to be able to make sure she was comfortable. She didn't seem to react to it.

"But..." Taiyang continued. "We always wanted for your mother to come back."

He glanced over at Raven out of the corner of his eye. Qrow did the same, watching and hoping that she wasn't going to end up bolting. Taiyang took a deep breath, trying hard to keep himself calm before continuing. "And now that we have a chance to have her here, we want to be able to try and do something with that."

"Okay," Yang's eyes flicked from Taiyang and over to Raven, like she was expecting a rebuttal. "So why are you here now?"

"In truth?" Raven replied, looking over at Qrow. "Because a little secret got out to Summer and Taiyang that wasn't supposed to." Qrow grit his teeth and watched Raven closely. He knew that he was about to be thrown under the bus. If there was anything in the world that Qrow could trust in, it was that he was about to be put into a very unfavorable position.

Yang looked from Raven to Qrow, realizing what was going on, and Qrow almost recoiled. He almost even wanted to run. But he needed to do or say something.

"I'm not the one that ran." Qrow growled back at his sister. "And I wouldn't have had to hide that little thing if it wasn't for _you_ not wanting anyone to know about it."

Raven took a step forward, and that was Qrow's signal to get up and climb out of the bed himself. He stood tall and balled his hands into fists at his side, leaning in towards his sister with gritted teeth. "Don't you dare try to put all of this on me, Raven."

"Too late." Raven snarled back, just as viciously. "I"m here, aren't I?"

"Yeah." Qrow kept his teeth grit and pushed back the need to throttle his sister and his want for a drink. "But if you aren't here for Yang, Tai, and Summer, I don't want you here."

"I'm here for you too, you _idiot_."

"Hey!" Taiyang shouted, pushing himself into the space between Qrow and Raven, using his spread arms to keep them apart from each other. "Yang's right there!"

Qrow took a deep breath and grit his teeth. "Yeah." He admitted, taking a half-step back but not letting himself relax too much. He couldn't let himself drop his guard with Raven there like she was at the moment. "She is. And she deserves better than this."

Raven picked a hand up to push Taiyang's arm away from her and took a step backwards. "I don't know what you expected."

"Raven." Summer spoke up, stepping in close to Raven, so close that she set a hand on the woman's shoulder. Raven didn't move to get away, just turned her head to look over at Summer. "We just wanted you to come home and show us that... you're still in there."

"Things changed, Summer." Raven replied, her voice all quiet. "This isn't simple anymore, or some game where we can just ignore the facts." She was bitter, that much was clear based on voice alone. "I abandoned all of you."

The entire room seemed to be sobered by those words alone. Everyone knew that what Raven had just said was true, but nobody wanted to be the one to have to acknowledge it. This wasn't simple, nor would it ever be. Raven was right. She'd run away from them, she'd abandoned her family.

She'd done a lot of terrible things to them all, that wasn't going to change anytime.

But they were allowed to want her back. That much was allowed, right?

"Yeah," Summer confirmed, her voice sounding surprisingly hard despite everything. "You did. And don't go thinking that you've been forgiven for that, because you haven't." Her silver eyes flicked over in Qrow's direction, and Qrow couldn't help the stab of guilt he felt for it. "And that goes regardless of whether it seems like someone here has forgiven you for it."

Qrow didn't say anything, at least for a little while. It wasn't a good idea for him to that, not here and not now. Not when he was being jabbed at for being in contact with Raven for so long. So he just bit his tongue, because it was all he could think to do with the current circumstances at hand.

"I know." Raven replied, standing tall and holding her head up despite the fact that she was much taller than Summer was. She didn't need to stand so tall, but she did anyways. Qrow figured this was Raven looking for power. "And you shouldn't be forgiving me. You shouldn't even want me here, but-" Her red eyes settled on Qrow and her lips quirked. "But you do anyways, and I will _never_ understand why."

She shook her head and looked down at Yang. "Don't be mistaken. You are my daughter and I do care for you." She shot Qrow another look, and Qrow realized that this was her signal for him to go and get the gift which she'd purchased for Yang back before everything had gone to hell. With a heavy sigh, Qrow released Yang and pushed himself up and out of the bed so that he could go and get the little box Raven had gotten for Yang merely months ago. "In fact-" Raven paused, watching Qrow finally slip out of the room.

It sounded like she was still talking, but Qrow didn't bother to make out most of it over the sound of his own heartbeat. He unzipped his duffel bag and took a moment to root around in it in search of the box. In a way, it was a chance for peace since he'd be able to be away from his family and he'd be able to breathe.

In another, it was nothing but negative. The can of beer that Raven had brought along with her to the house called to Qrow. It made his hands itch and left him feeling like it should have been the only thing in his life that mattered. He needed a drink. Without one, he was sure that he was going to end up falling apart, and that was something that he didn't look forward to.

But Qrow also knew better, he reminded himself as he finally removed the box from the bottle of his bag. It was still wrapped, still kept with Raven's card. He hesitated as he rested there for just a moment, gift and card in his hands.

Back when Raven had first given him these things, he'd been expecting to have to present it to Yang both in private but also in secret. Either that or he would have lied and hoped that nobody saw through his facade. Needless to say, the actual outcome simply wasn't one that he saw coming.

Qrow didn't know how he really felt about it, all things considered.

But, he knew that he couldn't stay there forever. He pushed back the need for a drink and forced himself up to his feet before making his way back into the bedroom.

It was almost like nothing had changed in his absence. Yang was there, still angry and still snarling. Raven was there, still well aware of the situation and unwilling to waver away from it. Taiyang was there with narrowed angry eyes, and Summer looked like she was doing her best to try and keep the peace there.

For Qrow, it was somehow more stressful than going blowing up gas stations or getaway driving had ever been.

He didn't say anything though, just tossed the small parcel that Raven had given him all those months ago to Raven and hoped that he didn't get questioned. If he was asked for a timeline, Qrow was sure that he would have been able to provide one, but that didn't mean that he wanted to have to give one. In his opinion, the less that Taiyang, Summer, and Yang knew about his contact with Raven, the better. If only because it meant that it'd leave him feeling a little bit less like a traitor.

Qrow hesitated at the bedside, almost like he was asking Yang's position before sitting down. She stared up at him with those violet eyes of hers and just nodded. With that, Qrow took his seat and looked up at Raven.

His sister stood there with the package in her hands, staring down at it with a furrowed brow before she looked up. "Thank you, Qrow." She said, grimacing. She offered it to Yang now. "This is for you."

Yang stared down at the parcel that Raven was offering, obviously wary. Qrow almost wanted to tell the kid that she didn't have to go ahead and take it, but he knew that wouldn't go over well. Not if he didn't want to end up hearing about it from Raven later one.

She looked up at Taiyang for a moment, only to earn an encouraging nod. Finally, Yang let out a little sigh and reached out for the parcel. Qrow leaned back where he was sitting and crossed his arms over his chest as he watched Yang begin to unpack the gift.

Slowly, she began to tear into the paper until she revealed the box itself and opened it to reveal a pair of golden bangles. Ones that were obviously fairly expensive. She seemed to stare down at them, unsure about whether she even wanted to put them on.

Qrow glanced over at Raven out of the corner of his eye, asking her a silent question about why she'd chosen gold. She looked back over at him and nodded. Qrow gestured towards Taiyang subtly, only to earn another nod.

It was everything that he'd needed to know, he supposed.

"Do you like it?" Raven asked, snapping her attention back over to Yang because that was just what was for the better in this situation.

"I..." Yang blinked, running her fingers over the cold metal before picking the first of the two bangles up. "These are for me?"

"Of course." Raven replied, leaning back against Taiyang's dresser and just watching her daughter closely. "I worked hard to get them."

Yang nodded slowly, and closed the box again, like she didn't want to put the bangles on. Qrow couldn't blame her for that, all things considered. There was no way that it wasn't hard for her. There was no way that she wasn't thinking of the bangles as a way of showing acceptance towards Raven.

Of course, Qrow was sure that it was possible that he was projecting on at least some level. He didn't know whether or not Yang actually was thinking about it in this way.

"Thank you." Yang said finally, her voice completely quiet as she put the now-closed box down next to her. She ran a finger along the edge of the paper envelope. They were all expecting for her to go ahead and open it at any second, but Qrow wanted to let the kid take her time and relax. In fact, it was probably theoretically better if she just didn't read Raven's card.

But Yang opened it and held the card out in front of her so that she could read it. Qrow considered reading it over her shoulder for a second, but decided against it. Yang took a deep shuddering breath and reached out, for Taiyang, for Summer. They both approached and seated themselves on the bed. It left Qrow scrambling out of the way so that the two of them would have room to sit down.

Yang sniffled quietly and looked between Qrow and Raven before speaking up. "Can I talk to..."

"Yeah." Qrow answered, getting up out of bed and shooting Raven a look to tell her that she didn't dare try to fight on this.

The two of them exited the room and stood out in the hallway for as long as they needed. Neither of them spoke to the other, and Qrow kept his eyes glued to the floor below. He didn't want to talk to Raven until he knew that everything was going to be okay as far as Yang was concerned.

They must have stayed there for close to half an hour, until finally the door opened and Taiyang stepped outside.

"Qrow?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah, Tai?"

Taiyang smiled softly at him. "You can call James and tell him that it's safe to come back with Ruby and Penny." Qrow nodded, already reaching down into his pocket so that he could get his phone and send James a text. Taiyang looked over at Raven and sighed heavily before finally speaking up again. "You can stay, but you better leave the kid alone if she seems upset."

"Understood." Raven replied, her expression cooler than ever and her voice matching it in tone. "Thank you, Tai."

Taiyang stared her down and sighed before speaking up again. "Don't thank me for anything yet." Finally, he slipped back into the bedroom, presumably so that he could continue whatever important family conversation was going on in there.

Qrow decided to step outside and wait for as long as he needed to. Eventually James arrived with the girls, and eventually Taiyang, Summer, and Yang emerged from that bedroom.

Somehow, he felt surprisingly okay with everything that was going on.

That wasn't to say that he wasn't going to want a drink before bed, though.


	69. The Couch

The day ended up being far too eventful for Qrow's liking. Between the girls trying (and oh, how _trying_ was an operative word when it came to Yang) to play and enjoy themselves over the course of the day, Yang's encounter with Raven, the chore that was keeping an eye on his sister, and trying to just keep things running around the house, he was _exhausted_. It wasn't as though he'd had to go through it all alone, but that didn't change much. Qrow was exhausted.

And he was going to be spending the night in the living room with James, as he had twice before.

The Yang, Ruby, and Penny were having a sleepover in Yang's bedroom that night, so there was the guarantee that the couch and the living room floor would be open. Naturally there were still some variables involved in it, like how James was feeling, but Qrow felt a little more at ease.

Raven was going to leave that night, and after that, Qrow couldn't be sure whether or not he was going to end up seeing Raven again after that. The question of whether she stuck around for them was up in the air.

He couldn't blame anyone for worrying about the outcome of that situation. Especially not Yang.

But she left eventually, after talking quietly with Summer and Taiyang outside for a while as James and Qrow sat inside, watching a movie with the kids.

In an hour or two, the girls went to bed.

Summer and Taiyang went to bed not long afterwards.

That left him and James alone, and it didn't take long for them to arrange a sleep situation at all. That was the good thing about this being a repeat experience. They'd done it before, and so Qrow knew he would have to push the coffee table out of the way and make a nest on the floor while James took the couch.

As always, James seemed a bit nervous about staying the night. There was still that residual shyness about his body, and what would happen if he had yet another flare-up of pain. If something happened, then they could deal with it then.

Qrow wasn't worried. Not when it came to James.

But the two of them went to work together. James and Qrow lifted the coffee table and moved it out of the way and James even helped Qrow lay out the blankets flat on the floor and pulled some of the cushions off of the back of the couch.

This time, there was just something that had them both wanting to be closer. Besides, they'd be able to be up before anyone else anyways.

Qrow was the first to slip off and change into his sleep clothes, leaving James in the living room alone. When he returned, it looked like James was going through his things so that he could ensure comfort that night too.

"Hey." Qrow greeted James.

James looked up at him, snapping a container of pills shut and taking a sip of water. Once he was done, he leaned back into his seat and relaxed. "Hey." James returned the greeting.

Qrow didn't bother to go for the blanket nest that had been arranged on the floor for him and instead dropped onto the couch next to James. "How're you feeling?"

"Tired." James replied with a quiet chuckled. "It's been a long day."

"You're telling me." Qrow replied with a sigh. "Thanks for helping out with it, by the way."

"It's no problem." James murmured back, blue eyes flicking away for just a moment. "Ruby and Yang are good kids."

"You know that's not what I mean."

"I know." James replied, just as quietly. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I don't know." Qrow admitted with a slight shrug, dropping back against the couch and hoping that it'd make him comfortable. James slipped in beside him, but it didn't add to Qrow's comfort. Nothing was probably going to work on that front. "Being around Raven always leaves me feeling..." A shrug. "Well, like shit. You know how it is."

"I'm sorry." James mumbled. He rested his hand on Qrow's knee, offering it for Qrow to hold if he wanted it. Qrow took the invitation, slipping his hand into James' left one and letting their fingers lace together.

"It's just like..." Qrow took a deep breath. Tried to collect his thoughts. "I could really use a drink."

James blinked and nodded. "I understand." He said quietly. "Laurel makes me feel the same way. Not like you feel it but.." James sighed and gestured vaguely with his hands. "I can relate."

"Thanks, Jim." Qrow murmured. He looked over at James, with his tired eyes and his chiseled jaw. Slowly, Qrow shifted and leaned into James' left side to make himself more comfortable. James pulled his hand away from Qrow's and wrapped his arm around Qrow's shoulder to pull him in close. Qrow hummed in contentment. "Thanks."

"It's okay." James whispered, rubbing small circles into Qrow's shoulder. "It's okay."

James didn't let up on the miniature massage that he was giving Qrow, and Qrow was glad for it. It was rare that he would end up in a situation like this one where he was beginning given comfort for no reason other than for the sake of it. This was James, with his gentleness out in full force, fully aware of how difficult the day had been for Qrow. This was the best attempt at being comforted that Qrow had ever even gotten from James.

He was thankful for it. Partially, because it was him being comforted by a man who seemed to have no ulterior motives about things. This was just James being there for him.

And that was the most clear of all, Qrow thought to himself as he sat there, curled up on the couch and at James' side. Both of them were hurting, at least on some level, and Qrow was being comforted for it.

He was sure that if James wanted some sort of balm to his soul, the man would have gone ahead and asked for it instead of just sitting there, side by side with Qrow. Though, that wasn't to say that it wasn't unwelcome. After a day like his, Qrow was sure that anyone would have been feeling exhausted.

Or they would have been like him, wishing that they had a drink in his hand to make him get through the night just a little bit easier.

And he'd been able to both admit that to James and feel like he wasn't being judged for it. That was perhaps the greatest gift of all that day. Still, his mind kept straying back to the can of beer in the fridge that Raven had tossed him when she'd arrived. He wanted to go back to the kitchen so that he could have it for himself pretty badly, but for now, Qrow could exist.

"Thank you." Qrow whispered into James' shoulder as he sat there with the other man. "For everything."

"It's no problem." James replied, all too calmly and in a way that almost managed to feel distant when all things were put into consideration. "I wanted to be here for you."

"You didn't have to, Jim." Qrow laughed very quietly, letting his eyes slip shut as he at there side by side with James. "You got involved in a lot of family drama that I'm sure you didn't care about at all today."

"It isn't that I don't care." James mumbled, tilting his head back slightly. Qrow felt the slight shift of James' shoulder as they sat there. It was a shrug, being pushed through through James' body and into Qrow's by extension. "It isn't really my business and I know that."

"It was still nice of you to stick around and help out."

James stayed quiet. His hand moved, up to Qrow's head so that he could brush his hands through Qrow's hair. It was pleasant, leaving Qrow with a sort of tingling sensation that ran up his spine and through his scalp. It was wholly pleasant, and when he shivered, he hoped that James didn't notice it too easily.

The two of them ended up sitting there together in relative silence as they made themselves comfortable. James was silent. He was relaxed and calm. It almost radiated off of James, in a way that almost left James feeling a bit calmer about the things that were going on. "Hey, Jim?"

"Yeah?" James asked, keeping his voice down and not trying to move or shift away from Qrow. "What is it?"

"I wanted to ask if..." Qrow paused, knowing that it wasn't enough. He needed to make himself feel better about things that were going on, and that included the beer that was in the fridge. "If you're okay?"

"I'm perfectly fine." James replied, keeping his voice as even as possible so that he couldn't risk stressing either of them out. "Are you?"

"I still want a drink." Qrow said, shifting slightly and even pulling away from James, if only slightly. "Raven brought me a can of something earlier and I can't stop thinking about it." He shook his head, knowing that this was terrible. "It's all I can think about."

That was enough to make James' hands still, pulling away from Qrow. Internally, Qrow swore, sure that he had just fucked up and James was going to start judging him for his drinking problems. It was enough to make Qrow open his eyes and look up at James. "Jim?"

"Qrow," James started, speaking very slowly and calmly. "Would having that beer make you feel better?"

That made Qrow stop, watching James in some disbelief about the situation. "Jim?"

James paused. "I won't judge you if you want to go ahead and have that drink." The man explained, keeping his voice as calm as possible and as relaxed as he could. "I won't stop you either."

"James?"

"But-" James turned now, locking his eyes with Qrow's and staying as calm as possible for both of their sake. "If you want to have that drink, I will stop you from having another one after it." James blinked, his eyes flicking back away from Qrow. "It's your choice."

Qrow took a deep breath and nodded. He thought hard, his eyes flickering over James' body for a moment before he finally came to a conclusion. "Well," He started, the words bitter on his tongue. "If you wanted, you and I could split that beer that Raven brought me."

"Yeah?" James asked, his voice calm. It sounded like he was trying to think hard on whether or not he was even willing to share a drink with Qrow. Of course, there was something that Qrow figured he hadn't considered with James. Whether or not James was even able to have a drink with his medication was a question.

"You want to?" Qrow asked. "I mean..." He paused. "Can you?"

James shrugged. "I guess it wouldn't hurt." He said finally. "I'm going to go and get ready for bed, and while you do that, you could go ahead and get those drinks ready."

"And you'll stop me if you need to?"

"Of course." James said, opening his bag and removing a set of clothing from it along with a few other small toiletries. When he laid everything out on the couch beside him, it was all in military-straight order.

Qrow couldn't help but to smirk as he made his way back to the kitchen so that he could get the drinks ready. He scratched at one of his arms idly as he opened the fridge up to find the can of beer that Raven had given him. It wasn't the sort of thing that he normally would have bought to drink, but that wasn't to say that there was necessarily anything wrong with it. Just wasn't what Qrow would have normally chosen for a drink.

He set the can down next to him and reached for the cabinet where the drinking glasses were held to pull two down. He set them out in front of him and began to fill them each, trying to keep the amount of beer in each as even as possible. The process took a minute or two before he was ready, and Qrow found himself grabbing a bag of chips when he heard the sound of the bathroom door opening.

He looked back over his shoulder to see that James was there, still in the same sleep clothes that he normally would have used back at his house. Long sleeved shirt, long pants, heavy socks that would be able to muffle the sounds of his footsteps when he walked. Qrow watched him closely.

"Hey." James greeted him, his voice as even and calm as always.

"Hey." Qrow returned the greeting, offering James the first of the two glasses, which James accepted with his ungloved right hand rather calmly. Qrow took a mental note of that, because that told him that he was going to have to worry a bit about anyone else getting up that day, but that was fine. Expected, even. Things were never going to be perfect when everything was brought into consideration. James had his sensitivities, but there was trust between the two of them. "Beer's cold."

James hesitated, looking down at the glass and seeming to just measure the coldness as best as he could while he stood there with the drink. It left Qrow wondering for just a moment, but he didn't comment on it. Finally, James looked back up at Qrow. "So it is."

"Back to the floor?" Qrow asked, picking up the bag of chips with his free hand and gesturing over to the spot that had been chosen for James to rest on. James looked back at it and nodded finally, leading the way over to the couch. He set his glass down on one of the side tables before taking his seat. Qrow slid in beside James and made himself comfortable.

The fact that he was being allowed on James' right side was a surprise in itself. One that Qrow was glad for, all things considered.

Naturally, Qrow had to make sure that James was okay with contact on his right side before he decided to go ahead and lean into the man. It was a slow process, which started with Qrow taking his seat there at James' side, and then slowly sinking into his side. James was calm. He was relaxed.

In fact, James didn't even try to protest against Qrow's presence there. He sat there as calm as ever, and when he decided he felt comfortable enough, James even lifted an arm so that he could wrap it around Qrow's shoulders. That little invitation made Qrow sink more and more into James' comfort and warmth.

James smelled pleasant, was the first thing that came to Qrow's mind. James smelled clean, despite the day behind them. His right side wasn't uncomfortable by any means, and the coolness of the metal that Qrow could feel through James' clothes was comforting. For just that little while, Qrow felt like he was actually able to relax properly.

He hummed quietly, signaling to James that he was comfortable. He earned a quiet hum of contentment from James and felt the slow wrap of an arm around his shoulders.

Qrow sipped from his drink and closed his eyes.

"Thanks for coming." Qrow mumbled quietly, knowing that it was just him repeating things that he'd said so many times over that day. "You didn't have to."

"Well," James hesitated. Qrow felt him shift slightly so that he could look for something. It was like he was searching to make sure that everything was okay. He didn't want to end up crossing a line. Qrow turned his head slightly in an attempt to check James' line of vision.

James was looking over at the bedroom where the three kids were staying. "I was glad to have a chance to be here for you. And the kids."

There was something that made Qrow's heart clench in his chest, but he didn't say anything else to James about it. Summer and Taiyang had surely offered the guy much more than they'd needed to.

"Jim?" Qrow blinked. "Something on your mind?"

"No." James replied quietly. "I'm glad to have been able to help you guys out when you needed it." He shrugged again. "And besides, taking Ruby and Penny out for a bit wasn't that bad. You guys needed a chance to have the house to yourselves." He shrugged. "Ruby's a good kid, Qrow. You should all be proud. She and Penny adore each other."

"We are." Qrow murmured quietly. "You know, I kind of get the feeling that today's been hard on you and you've made a point not to mention it." He turned his head to get a good look at James again. The guy was staring at a spot on a wall.

Silently hiding from something, Qrow realized.

James' blue eyes didn't waver away from the spot that James had chosen to stare down. "I figure it probably would have been easier for all of you if it wasn't for me being here."

"Nah," Qrow grumbled. "You've helped us out a lot today James. I know it might be hard to believe but-" Qrow swallowed hard and shifted his position, turning so that he could rest his chin on James' chest. James didn't try to protest against him, which was nice. It was a small comfort. "You being here now is helping me a lot."

James hummed quietly in understanding. He picked up his hand and began to slowly card his fingers through Qrow's hair. It was a pleasant feeling, and Qrow let his eyes slip shut and nuzzled into him. This was the most comfortable that they'd been in a long time. He needed this. They both did.

Qrow figured that talking to Laurel earlier that day had thrown James off, at least a little bit.

"Well, you didn't have to have me here." James mumbled. "You could have sent me home so that you could all enjoy your time with your family."

Those words were enough to make Qrow pause. There was something that he desperately wanted to go ahead and say to James, but it wasn't nearly as simple as it could have been. It was too hard, probably pushing a boundary that shouldn't have been pushed. He didn't want to end up hurting James, and he didn't want to end up throwing things off any more than they already were.

"You know-" Qrow swallowed hard, feeling like there was a lump stuck in his throat that he was never going to be able to get rid of. There was no getting rid of these feelings, negative and painful as they were. "I think that to Tai and Summer, you might feel more like family than Raven is at this point."

James shook his head. "They've only seen me a few times, Qrow."

"And?" Qrow shifted slightly. "She ran off on them and-" He paused, his eyes flicking down to see where James was resting his hand on his knee. Qrow wanted to reach up and touch James' hand, but it wasn't going to make him feel better. If anything, it was going to make things harder. It was going to set him and James back to the same starting point that they always went back to. "Well, they like you."

"They have no reason to."

"That's wrong, though." Qrow said with a quiet laugh as she sat up properly to look up at James' face. "There are plenty of reasons that they would want to have you around." He shrugged and felt like he had to clarify, even if James wasn't going to ask for him to do so.

"Are there?"

Qrow's eyes flicked over James' face. He looked over the man's straight nose, his strong brow and chin, his blue eyes that were like oceans. He swallowed. "Yeah." He said, his voice barely above a whisper. "You..."

"Qrow?"

"You make me happy." Qrow finally managed, very quietly. "And I think to them that's more than enough. And the girls like you and Penny a lot."

"You think so?" James asked, his voice hard and his expression surprised. "That's-"

"What?" Qrow knew that his brow furrowed as he tried to figure out what he was supposed to do.

Qrow heard more than saw the way that James took a deep breath in a weak attempt to calm himself down. He figured that it wasn't going to be enough, but he had to watch. He had to be patient, he had to give James a chance to figure out what was going on in his own head before he did anything.

That was the least that he could do.

But he wanted to do things. He wanted to be able to pick his hands up and run his fingers through the dark locks of James' hair. He wanted to pull the other man in and see whether or not that was going to help aid James through whatever was going on. He needed to relax.

"Jim?" Qrow raised his voice, only once he was sure that the silence that dared to linger between the two of them had gotten to be too much. "You-"

"I'm fine." James replied, his voice low in volume and almost even sounding like he might be feeling some distress. That wasn't good, Qrow thought, but he wasn't going to question it too much. "It's just a lot to take in."

"Is it?"

"Yeah." James replied, his eyes flicking down and away from Qrow instead of him letting himself say something. "It is."

Words caught in Qrow's throat. Words that he wanted to say but didn't have the way to let out. He needed to figure out how he was going to handle this and quickly. The last thing that either of them wanted that night was probably for one of them to get scared and try to run.

"It doesn't have to be."

"Really?"

"Yeah." Qrow mumbled. "It doesn't. You're allowed to just..." He shrugged. "Well, I'd like to keep you around, Jim." James nodded, his confidence seemingly having waned some amount. "You're allowed to take your time."

James hummed, leaning back in his seat and staring down at his hands like he thought that he might be able to find some sort of salvation there. Like maybe there was something that could be found in his half-filled drink, or in the palm of his hand. Qrow let his eyes flick between James' face and his hands, and all at once what was going on in JAmes' head became apparent.

The man's gaze was very obviously focused on a spot on his left hand. In fact, to be specific, it seemed like James was focusing on his ring finger like there was something wrong with it. Qrow swallowed hard, knowing what he was probably thinking about.

This wasn't about Qrow, this was about Penny.

"James?"

"I can't say yes." James finally said, his voice low and cracking. "This isn't something that I should be even considering undertaking right now. Not when-" He stopped himself before he could get emotional. James didn't let his volume rise and he didn't let himself gesture over to the bedroom door where Ruby, Yang, and Penny were probably all fast asleep. "I don't even have my own family together, Qrow." James' expression dropped, and he focused on a spot on the floor.

He looked absolutely downtrodden, and Qrow couldn't help but to blame himself for it. "I can't think about this sort of thing until I know for a fact that I'm going to have Penny."

The words were barely even whispered, they were so quiet. To Qrow, it almost managed to sound like a prayer, despite everything. There was desperation in James' tone that couldn't be ignored at any chance. This was James, desperate and hoping for something better.

Something that Qrow didn't think he was going to be able to give James ever. James wanted a chance to have his family together but James also knew fully well that it was something that he had to go to Ozpin for help with. This was a legal matter, and Qrow wasn't a lawyer.

Hell, Qrow didn't even know whether or not Penny even liked him, as bitter as that made him feel.

But Qrow couldn't hold James wanting to keep his daughter close against the guy. It wasn't as though he was going to forget about his kid so easily. James wasn't like that, and Qrow knew better than most people did that it was a very good thing that was the case. It was definitely for the better that James and Penny were a package deal.

Someday he would be able to know whether or not Penny actually liked him or not, but that was very much an issue for another day. He would have to get a chance to be alone with the kid and James sometime to be able to figure things out. Right now, he had the feeling that Penny probably was just associating him with the chance to see her dad when he wasn't supposed to be seeing her.

Someday, Qrow would get to know. He had to remind himself of that over and over again.

After all, he knew that if there was even the slightest hint that Penny didn't like him, he was as good as gone. That was just how James tended to be, and Qrow couldn't blame the guy for it. James had good reasons for being the way that he was.

That was just James.

"You know," Qrow began, hating every word that was about to leave his mouth with the utmost sincerity but also sure that it was just for the better if he didn't let his displeasure show too much. "I won't blame you if things don't work out because of Penny." The words slipped out too easily, and Qrow almost wanted to beat himself for what he'd just said, since he was very certain that he'd just managed to fuck things up completely. "And I won't blame Penny either-" He tacked the words on so quickly that it almost felt like a complete thought.

Almost.

Qrow was sure that James had noticed that this was an attempt to hide his slip up.

He had to take a too-deep breath so that he could collect his thoughts before he decided to go ahead and finish the thought. "You two aren't going to get split up. I know that." He shrugged slightly, knowing that he was probably about flush fairly badly and that James was going to notice it. "I think it's good that you're so dedicated to your kid, you know that?"

James was quiet. Too quiet. _Scarily quiet._ The man almost felt like he was getting ready to pull away from Qrow if he needed to, and that was _definitely_ something that Qrow didn't want to happen. He needed the physical comfort of another body pressed in against his right now.

He needed anything to be able to help him stay calm and relaxed.

"Qrow-" James began, voice as heavy and strained as always. "I just..." he paused, making a point not to look over at Qrow. It just left Qrow feeling bitter. "I don't want to put myself in a situation that's going to end up breaking a lot of hearts. It just… isn't a good time."

Qrow froze in place. He felt like he was going to throw up, he felt like he was going to have a heart attack. He felt like he needed another drink, but this time, it didn't feel like it was coming from a need to kill his sorrow. Now, it was coming from somewhere and something else entirely. It was entirely possible that he was taking James' words the complete wrong way, but Qrow didn't want to consider that possibility.

Not when he'd just gotten the closest to getting James to admit that there was something between them than he ever had. Words had meaning, and James was always deliberate with them. He wouldn't have said that sort of thing if he hadn't meant it. Qrow was sure of it.

But Qrow had to say something. He had to make it clear that he wasn't freaking out, and that he wasn't getting completely bogged down in what James had just said. In a way, what Qrow needed to do was find a way to answer James as sincerely as possible without ruining things.

So he leaned in towards James. He tried to rest his head on James' broad shoulder. When there was no give, Qrow couldn't bring himself to care about it. All that he wanted then was for James to reach out, wrap an arm around him, and pull him in close so that the two of them could be together, even if it was just for a little bit.

James didn't protest against him. It was the best thing that he could have hoped for save for a kiss or something in kind.

When Qrow managed to speak, he knew that his voice was cracking dangerously and he probably sounded just as distressed as he was feeling at the moment. "I don't want to put you in a position like that, Jim." He whispered. Underneath him, he didn't feel James move or try to get away. Maybe it was acceptance of the situation at hand. "I like you too much."

James nodded slowly. He understood.

They both did.

"I like you too much too." James mumbled, resting his cheek on the top of Qrow's head. It felt like their breathing had managed to match, and Qrow couldn't be sure whether or not that was a good thing or not. When there were things that they were both obviously trying to dodge on the table, Qrow couldn't be too sure.

He knew the subtext of what he'd said to James.

And James was smart. Hell, James was smarter than most of the people that Qrow knew. Not everyone was a criminal mastermind like James. Most people would have gotten caught on the first job.

James couldn't though.

He was smart.

He knew.

Qrow was confident in that.

And he needed to say something to James. He needed to do something to make it clear that both of them were trying to reach out to each other in whatever way made the most sense to them both. He needed to feel some sort of connection to James beyond the simple act of cuddling and sharing a beer like they were now.

Qrow let his eyes slip shut, partially because he was afraid that he was going to end up with tears slipping out that he didn't want to have to confront at the moment. "You mean that?" He asked, quietly.

"Yeah." James replied, whispering into Qrow's hair. "I do."

Qrow picked up a hand, wondering whether he was pushing things in the wrong direction. Slowly, he began to twist his body so that he and James were nearly lying chest to chest, and reached out, wanting to touch James. He paused, his hand hovering over the space that he wanted to make contact with.

His eyes flicked up to James', seeking permission. "Can I-"

James didn't answer with words. The soft weight of his hand on top of Qrow's as he pressed Qrow's hand into that space at the center of his chest where Qrow expected to feel a heartbeat was all that was needed. When Qrow realized that what he felt under James' shirt wasn't entirely human, he reminded himself not to comment on it.

Dancing beneath his fingers and hiding behind fabric, was a mixture of flesh and metal, with a distinct seam that ran down the center. On James' right side, metal. His left, scar tissue that was so heavy and raised that Qrow couldn't have missed it.

And somewhere, down deep beneath that, was the feeling of James' heartbeat.

James was silent, his grip tightening on Qrow's hand just slightly. Qrow didn't let it stop him. He had to make James feel better about this.

"That far?" He asked, keeping things simple so that James could dodge at much as he needed to.

"Yes." James mumbled, voice terrifyingly quiet. "Is that a problem?"

"No."

Silence hung between them. James' touch relaxed, and he seemed to sink back into the couch just a little bit more. It gave Qrow more space to advance, and so Qrow took that chance to climb up into James' arms as much as he could and make himself comfortable there in the man's touch.

And James didn't move. He didn't even try to push Qrow away.

It might have even been love, Qrow thought to himself as he let his eyes slip shut.

In the end, he didn't end up moving down to the floor to sleep. He fell asleep cradled against James' chest, with James' heavy arm wrapped around him and keeping him there, safe and sound.


	70. Sunshine in the Morning

When James woke in the morning, he was almost ready to run and panic at the realization that he'd fallen asleep in an unfamiliar place with Qrow pressed in so close against his body. It was inappropriate, it was probably _rude_ , it was just generally a bad thing that he felt that way. He tried to shift to get up, but only found himself weighed down by Qrow's body.

The good thing about that was that Qrow seemed to be mostly ignorant to what was going on in the land of the living. In fact, he seemed like he was mostly caught up in some sort of dream that James didn't dare wake him from.

 _This was bad_. It was a mantra that ran through James' head, over and over, and over again and never stopping. It made him feel like he couldn't breathe, but Qrow's presence almost helped. It gave him the chance to match his breathing to Qrow's because that could at the very least help James feel somewhat grounded as he sat there with the other man.

He sucked in a deep breath, and nearly bolted when he heard the sound of one of the doors in the house opening.

 _Shit_.

Someone was _awake_.

James squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath, trying his hardest to squirm out from underneath Qrow without disturbing the other man too much. Lucky for him, it seemed like Qrow was a fairly heavy sleeper.

He took a deep breath and watched Qrow sleep, hearing one of the doors in the house slip shut. James could only assume that this was a matter of someone getting up to use the bathroom, but he also couldn't be too sure. James knew better than that.

For a minute, he needed to sit there and try to collect his thoughts before finally getting up. The very least that he could do for himself in a situation like this was go and take his medication so that he could actually pretend to function through the morning.

When he reached the kitchen, he saw that Summer was already there, looking through a couple of jars that had been labelled with colored stickers. She looked up at him and raised and eyebrow but didn't say anything to him about it. She set down one of the jars and opened it.

James was hit with the scent of coffee grinds.

"Good morning." Summer greeted him, almost sounding too cheery. "You're up early."

"Could say the same to you." James answered with a slight wince as he began to refill the glass that he'd used the night before with cold water. He grit his teeth, trying not to show that he was upset, and trying even harder not to show that he was in pain.

It was when he was filling his glass that he realized that his hand was still exposed.

His entire body felt like it had turned into an icicle at that realization. This wasn't what he wanted. His eyes flicked over to Summer, and he was sure that he probably looked at least somewhat terrified.

The woman's eyes flicked down to the hand and then up to James' face. "Do you need something, sweetie?"

Not even a word.

Not even a word, she either didn't care or she was trying to hide what she was thinking. James didn't know which would be the case, and he didn't know that he actually wanted to be able to find out anytime soon.

He swallowed hard. "Just the water." He managed to force the words out from behind cracked lips.

But Summer didn't comment on it. She just nodded slowly and began to measure out the coffee grinds so that she could start making the drink for the morning. "Do you mind java?" She asked, looking up at him for just a second. "Qrow mentioned that you like coffee-"

"Yes." James answered, a little too quickly and perhaps even a little bit too eagerly. He knew that it wasn't a very good look, but it was an all too welcome distraction away from what was plaguing his mind, and so James would accept the chance to use this for his own devices. "Java sounds wonderful."

Summer smiled at him and nodded. "I hope you slept okay?"

Small talk. All small talk.

It was so beyond welcome that James almost felt like he could _breathe_ again.

James looked down at the glass of water in front of him, doing his best to avoid the issue at hand so that he could relax. It wasn't going to be easy, especially since he was in an uncomfortable situation at the moment. He concentrated and forced a smile of sorts on for Summer.

All that he had to do for a while was sit by and let Summer take the lead.

"I slept alright." James said with a slight shrug, his mind staying back to the couch where Qrow was still resting peacefully. "Your couch isn't so bad."

"Well, we've kept Qrow there for long enough." Summer said with a slight shrug. "I'm sure that if he actually minded it he wouldn't have offered it." She paused and turned to face James, with nothing to do while the coffee was made. "Thank you for helping out yesterday."

"It was no problem, really." James said quietly. "I figured that you all needed it."

Summer's eyes narrowed slightly, almost a challenge, but soon she spoke up again, calm as ever. "So he told you?"

"Yeah." James admitted with a slight shrug. "I don't mean to impose-"

"No, it's fine." Summer waved James' concerns away with an open hand. "He has the right to tell people about it. Tai and I would rather that our family drama wasn't on display for everyone to see, but we know we can't stop him." She shrugged slightly. "Raven's his sister, he probably needs someone that's not a part of this."

James nodded slowly, feeling a little bit better about things now. It meant that he wasn't just an unwelcome addition there for the little time that he was going to be there. "Thank you," He began, hoping that he'd be able to feel like he was actually clearing the air. "For having me. You didn't have to let me stay overnight."

"We didn't want to stop you, James." Summer turned at the sound of a beep on the coffee maker that alerted her to the fact that their coffee was ready. "Your daughter is here, after all." She pulled down a pair of mugs and began to pull them one by one. "Tai and I wouldn't want to keep your family apart when it seems like things are… hard."

Summer was quick to pass James the first of the two mugs, and James took it graciously, sipping from it and closing his eyes. The warmth from the drink began to sink down into his bones, and James almost felt himself relaxing. James had definitely needed this to help him feel better.

Soon, the medication would kick in properly and James would be alright to actually go through his day. "Thank you." He mumbled again, but this time it was for something else.

There was the sound of someone walking around, and when James looked over, he saw that it was Qrow.

The man stood in the doorway, with his hair sticking out on the left side where James had been his pillow. He looked dead tired, and James couldn't help but to just watch the man as he approached them.

Qrow looked good in his early morning exhaustion.

"Hey." He croaked the word out as he looked between the two mugs of coffee that James and Summer had. "None for me?"

"Get your own." Summer said with a roll of her eyes. "And leave some for Tai."

"Yeah, yeah," Qrow muttered as he began to pour his own drink. "Blondie hasn't gotten up yet?"

"He wanted to sleep in." Summer answered with a slight shrug. "He'll be up eventually."

"And the kids?"

"No sign of them getting up." James answered Qrow's question, keeping his voice as quiet as he could manage. It was just better that way. Partially because he didn't want to risk accidentally waking Penny up, let alone the other girls. "We should have some time."

Qrow nodded and leaned against the counter beside James, nudging him just slightly. James smiled softly at the feeling and sipped his coffee, hoping to hide it. "Should we make them breakfast?" Qrow asked, leaning back and setting his coffee down beside him.

Summer smiled now, and James felt himself flush slightly at the realization that she'd seen how Qrow had bumped up against him. It made James uncomfortable, but he didn't let it show too much. That was just the last thing that James wanted to do.

"You want to do the work?" Summer asked, looking over at Qrow. "I'm sure that the girls miss uncle Qrow's pancakes."

"I made them yesterday morning!" Qrow exclaimed, keeping his voice as hushed as he could manage. He smirked and finally drank from his coffee. "I think we could give them some leftover ice cream and cake for breakfast."

" _Don't you dare_." Summer hissed the words out to Qrow.

"Please don't." James spoke up now, sighing quietly. "I'd rather you not ruin my daughter's eating habits."

"Hey!" Qrow said, stepping back and setting that half-finished mug of coffee down at his side. "I'm not going to ruin them." He shrugged slightly. "Besides, I'm sure Yang wouldn't mind having some garbage for breakfast after how yesterday went."

"Still." James said just as quietly, placing his still ungloved metal hand on Qrow's shoulder. "Please don't. If you're going to feed them leftover party food, please let it be the pizza."

"Yeah, sure." Qrow said as he shrugged James' touch off. The fact of the matter was that neither of them needed it, really. It just wasn't necessary. When things went poorly, they were able to pick themselves up over and over again as needed. "How're you holding up, Sum?"

Summer's expression fell, and James couldn't help but think that she looked terribly sad. "I'm doing as best as I can." Summer said finally with a quiet sigh. "Yesterday was..."

"Hard?"

"Yeah," Summer said quietly. "I figured that seeing her would be, but..."

"I get it." Qrow answered. James decided that it was for the best if he tried to just fade into the background of the conversation and let Qrow and Summer talk things over. "It's never easy for me either," Qrow mumbled with a slight shrug of his own as he stared down into the mug of coffee in his hand. "Raven has that effect."

"I know." Summer replied quietly. "I think that Tai's hurting pretty bad. I'm worried about him, but you know how he can be."

"Yeah," Qrow said quietly. "I do."

James didn't comment. He just let himself slip a little bit closer in to Qrow and let their fingers gently bump up against each other. Qrow realized what he was doing easily enough though, and laced their fingers together for just a little while. It was comfort, for both of them.

Instead of saying anything to Summer, or jumping into a conversation that James was sure he didn't belong in, he began to slowly massage circles into the back of Qrow's hand. Qrow smiled softly and looked up at James with something in his eyes that James didn't want to try to identify.

Summer paused, hesitating the entire time as she drank her coffee again. "We're going to be okay, Qrow." She said quietly. "Tai and I have been through this sort of thing before." Her expression sank further and her voice got even quieter. "I'm mostly worried about Yang now."

"She's a tough kid." Qrow said with a slight shrug and a gentle smile. "If I know Yang at all, she'll have her stuff figured out soon and then she'll be feeling like herself again in now time." Qrow's voice trailed off at the end, and his expression grew somber as well. "I'm mostly just hoping that she's not going to end up resenting us for this."

"If she's angry at anyone-" Summer interjected, her voice hard. "It's probably going to be me more than anyone else." She shook her head. "You know, with that whole 'not your real mom thing.'"

Qrow nodded slowly, but the look on his face told James that he didn't believe Summer for a second. "I'm the one that hid Raven the most though," He said, frowning as he finally set his coffee down. It was then that Qrow finally pulled his hand away from James' and scratched idly at the inside of his arm. "I hid her from a lot of people."

"Qrow-" Summer spoke his name, but she sounded thoroughly exhausted with the lone syllable of Qrow's name. "You know I don't hate you for that, right?"

"You should." Qrow mumbled. "Tai and Yang too. All of you deserved better than that. But..." He shrugged, and James realized that Qrow was doing everything that he possibly could to distance himself from what was happening. "Well, you guys still keep me around and I'm not really sure why."

"Qrow..." Summer stepped in close, reaching out so that she could wrap her arms around her friend and try to comfort him. "You know that we don't hate you." Qrow accepted the hug, but he was completely stiff the entire time. "I think that Tai and I both realize that it was more Raven keeping you from telling us than you."

"I wanted to tell you." Qrow said, his voice deathly quiet. "I wanted to tell you two so bad and I just..." A heavy sigh escaped him. "I just couldn't, Summer."

"I know, Qrow." Summer mumbled quietly. "We're hurt, but I don't think either of us blame you for it."

"You think so?" Qrow asked, hoping for a bona fide confirmation. James didn't say anything still, just rubbed gentle circles into the back of Qrow's hand.

"I think so." Summer said quietly, smiling gently at Qrow as she raised her mug to her lips for another sip. She shook her head and hesitated, her eyes drifting down to the space between James and Qrow. James saw the soft quirk of her lips and tried not to think too much of it.

It was really obvious that she was reading into the contact, and James didn't want to be put in a position where he had to say too much about what was going on between him and Qrow. Not when he himself wasn't quite sure about how he thought of that relationship between the two of them. There was too much unknown, and far too much that had gone unlabeled. James hoped that Summer could understand that.

And even then, James had some feeling that whatever ended up happening was going to be based largely in how Qrow decided to talk about things. James wanted to let Qrow lead when it came to this topic, but he also knew that it probably wasn't going to be so simple. Not when he and Qrow hadn't really defined things properly yet themselves.

"So-" Summer asked, her head snapping over to Qrow and away from the joined hands. "Did you sleep alright?"

"Yeah," Qrow groaned. "Stiff, but I think so. Got too used to beds."

"Yeah?" Summer looked over at James. "And you?"

"Also stiff." James mumbled quietly, tearing his eyes away from Summer and rolling his right shoulder absentmindedly. "But for different reasons, I think."

Qrow's head snapped up and he shot James a look that James had to interpret as quickly as possible. He figured that Qrow was doing his best to just ask whether James had taken his medication yet that morning. Or maybe he was trying to figure out whether or not it was a double entendre. James just nodded as slightly as he could, gesturing to the empty glass behind him to get Qrow to understand.

Summer's grin widened as she watched the two of them. "You two really are too good together, you know that?"

"What?" James asked, keeping his voice down. This was the one thing that he wanted to have to bring up to anyone else least of all. He didn't want for Penny to overhear this sort of conversation, after all. "We're-"

"Obviously dating." Summer cut James off, and James felt the flush of his cheeks and the burning at the tips of his ears as he turned red. His relationship with Qrow and any specifics about it had been kept out of the view of everyone else for a while. Sure, Roman and Junior knew some things about it, but they were also probably the closest people to him.

And mutual friends, besides.

"We're not dating." Qrow spoke up, like he was doing his best to deflect some of the attention away from James for just a little bit. "I mostly just crash at his place, you know?"

"I don't." Summer said quietly. "Look, you two work together, but I'd really prefer it if you weren't still doing this tag team denial thing." She shook her head, dark red hair flipping with the motion. "You two are practically attached at the hip."

Her gaze softened and she looked down at the space between the two of them. "I saw the way that you two were sleeping, you know."

James flushed further. He swallowed hard and took a deep breath in through his nose, hoping that it'd be enough to help him calm down, even if it was only a little bit. "Oh." He mumbled, frowning rather obviously. "Please don't think too much of it." He said quietly. "It's not-"

"I'm not judging you, if that's what you're worried about." Summer nearly seemed to snap, and James figured that she felt like she had to get defensive, at least a little bit. "You two work together. I may not get your relationship, mostly because you two are _weird_ about it, but I'm not judging you." Summer shook her head and sighed quietly. "But that's enough serious talk for this morning," Summer said. "You two want breakfast?"

"Yeah." Qrow piped up. "Especially if I don't have to make it."

When Summer's first response to Qrow's retort was to just roll her eyes, James had to stifle a quiet laugh. In a way, that sort of response coming from Qrow about such a thing as having dinner was almost to be expected. It was something that James certainly would have expected, regardless of what he was being asked about.

"Of course, Qrow." Summer said, putting on airs and waving a hand dramatically. "Who would I be to make you make breakfast?"

Qrow snorted and elbowed James playfully. "She's just jealous that I'm the better housewife."

James felt his face flush a little bit at that, but did his best not to say anything about it because it didn't feel like it was his place to do so. Of course James wished that he knew where that flush was actually coming from, but he did his best not to mention it. The last thing that James really wanted that morning was to give more opportunities to be played with.

"You are not, couch dweller." Summer replied with a snort of her own, turning to the fridge and pulling it open before pausing and looking back at James. "Did you want-"

"No thank you." James said, keeping his voice as even as he could. He knew that it probably was going to come off as rude, but until he was sure that his medication was actually kicking in he didn't trust himself to eat. A bad wave of pain could be enough to leave him losing all the contents of his stomach. "Not right now."

Qrow looked over at James, looking concerned. James didn't give him any obvious response, just shrugged slightly. Qrow nodded in understanding and looked back over at Summer. "Omelettes sound good." He said, seeming to steer the conversation back away from James. James was grateful for it.

"Alright." Summer said as she began to remove things from the fridge. She hummed quietly as she began to open the carton of eggs. She looked back over at James over her shoulder again. "You don't want me to make you anything anyways?"

James grimaced, figuring that it was for the best if he just said something that was going to be enough to hopefully get Summer off his back. "I'm on a lot of medication." James explained himself. "Tends to make me nauseous first thing in the morning."

"I'll make you some toast, okay?" Summer asked, seeming to be insistent on making sure that there was at least something available to James that morning for breakfast. "I don't want you starving on my watch."

James sighed heavily, accepting that he wasn't going to be able to get away without agreeing to have something for breakfast in some way. He understood how Summer was looking at it, he just preferred not to have breakfast most days. And he'd been honest about the reasons for that too.

"Alright." James answered, picking up his mug of coffee and sipping from it once more. "Thank you for offering, Summer."

"You're a guest." Summer said with a shrug. Almost as quickly as this had started, her demeanor changed though. "As for you, Qrow-"

"What's up, Sunshine?" Qrow asked, leaning back against the counter again and shifting to make himself more comfortable. "Am I in trouble?"

"You will be if you don't tell me what you want in your omelette." Summer seemed tos pin on her heel, gesturing at Qrow with a fresh fork like it was a threat despite the fact that it definitely wasn't one.

Qrow hummed, blinking, and then he grinned widely. "Surprise me."

Summer frowned, her eyes narrowing her and expression almost going flat, despite the fact that it was very obviously a playful reaction. "Tabasco it is."

"Who said anything about Tabasco?" Another voice broke into the group, and James looked over to see a very tired Taiyang Xiao Long standing by the door. He was rubbing at his eyes and the guy's hair was sticking up in every direction. Somehow, he managed to look even sloppier than Qrow did.

But he also looked comfortable.

It wasn't enough to make James feel like he could really relax though, since Taiyang didn't know about the whole prosthetic arm thing. It was just one of those things that James would sincerely have preferred not get brought up.

"Nobody, sweetheart." Summer greeted Taiyang. "Just trying to feed Qrow."

"I want some." Taiyang groaned as he dragged himself over to the coffeemaker so that he could have something to help wake him up that morning too. "What're you making?"

"Omelettes." Summer replied with a soft smile stretching over her face. "That good with you?"

"It's perfect." Taiyang mumbled, leaning in to press a kiss to Summer's cheek. "Any sign of the kids?"

"Still asleep." Summer smiled gently, leaning up to give Taiyang another kiss of her own. "For now the adults get to relax."

"Thank god." Taiyang replied as he took the first sip of his coffee. "I feel dead."

"You always feel dead in the morning." Qrow muttered into his coffee.

If Taiyang was feeling awake enough, James was sure that he would have rolled his eyes over what had just been said, but nobody said anything about it. He sipped at his mug of coffee, and with his presence, it was almost like the entire group managed to relax, at least a little bit.

"So." Taiyang asked, looking slightly more awake, but not by much. "What're we talking about?"

"Drama." Summer answered with a roll of the eyes. "You know, we just love trading the hot gossip first thing in the morning. You wouldn't believe what the Adels did this week." She smiled widely and Taiyang let out a quiet laugh.

"Is that all?"

"Oh, yeah." Summer replied, glancing at James and Qrow out of the corner of her eye for a moment. "That's all there is."

James smiled softly back at Summer, more than just a little be thankful for the sudden excuse to have the conversation that had been going on before Taiyang had gotten up dropped. He didn't know how he was supposed to react to the sudden lapse in the conversation, or what it could mean, but it was welcome nonetheless.

"Got it." Taiyang mumbled as he looked over at the food that Summer was preparing. "I get breakfast too, right?"

"Of course you do." Summer laughed quietly. "We should make something for the kids too, of course."

Qrow groaned quietly, and James couldn't help but smile himself, since he figured that it was just a sign that he was expecting to end up in a situation where he was going to need to cook breakfast for the girls. The fact that Qrow was the one that always made breakfast for Yang and Ruby was something that James figured was actually rather cute.

It was probably inappropriate to be thinking about this sort of thing. He and Qrow weren't anything special, but there was something about it that made James think hard on it. When he and Laurel had still been married that sort of domesticity had never seemed to bleed into the equation.

But of course, James didn't think that it was wise to be thinking about it in those terms. He knew fully well that his relationship with Laurel and their marriage had been a mistake.

And now, he was thinking that someone like Qrow could actually be a better co-parent than Penny's actual mother.

He was staring at the red eyed man.

James knew that he was, and yet he wasn't able to look away or think of anything else.

Qrow laughed, and James' heart swelled. He leaned back against the counter, and James couldn't tear his eyes away. He wanted to reach out and pull Qrow in, to tell him exactly what was going on in his mind, but James also couldn't bring himself to do that.

It wasn't so simple.

There was a finite timeline on how long he was going to be able to do the things that he did, after all.

James already knew that.

He had until after the last job, and then it was all going to end. James was sure of it.

After that, James was going to have to leave the group and cut contact with them in just about every way.

And now it was becoming extremely obvious to James what he was actually going to lose when that happened. Yes, he was probably going to get Penny full time or at least most of the time, but James didn't know whether or not losing Qrow was going to be worth it.

That was a lie.

He knew that getting Penny was going to be worth it.

But losing Qrow would hurt.

The swelling in his chest became uncomfortable, and James became aware of the fact that he'd turned out of the conversation between the four adults at some point. But he didn't care.

He awkwardly pushed off of the counter and took a step forward, shoving his right hand down into his pocket so that nobody would see the metallic sheen of it.

When James slipped out of the kitchen, it was with the excuse that he had forgotten something out in his car and that he needed to get it.

He closed his eyes and tried hard not to concentrate on the sounds of the conversation in the kitchen. He needed to do something to be able to get away from the way that he was feeling.

James didn't want to deal with the reality of what had happened the night before. He didn't want to face those feelings in the company of others.

When he and Qrow had talked the night before, James had found that he was speaking with double meanings more often than not. Qrow didn't need to know that James was hurting in the way that he was. Qrow probably hadn't realized the reality that James had practically all but confessed to a feeling that he was only now actually able to name.

James was sure now that he loved Qrow.

Love.

That was what it was.

And to think, that James would be feeling those things towards Qrow of all people. He'd never thought that it would be possible, that the man that he'd so openly bickered with at the beginning of their relationship would be the second person that James was sure he actually loved romantically.

But there was something that told James that Qrow was actually the first, rather than the second.

He didn't know how to think of it anymore.

He wanted for Penny to have another parent in her life, but he needed to be able to have Penny first.

And he needed to find a way to reconcile with the fact that he was going to have to leave Qrow behind.

Oh, how that hurt.

To get what he wanted, James was going to have to give up something else entirely.

It almost felt like the gods had it out for him, at least in a way. Nobody should have felt like they had to make a choice about what they wanted in their life.

But James also knew how things had been.

He'd been able to live for so long without someone to love him like he hoped Qrow would.

So this was theoretically nothing.

But that didn't mean that James was necessarily able to go ahead and calm down and get this out of his head, though. In the end, James sat in his car for several minutes, do his absolute best not to get bogged down in the thoughts about Qrow.

It was hard. He sat there and waited, and waited, and waited until he finally felt like he was able to breathe again. It was then and only then that James decided to pick himself and take the walk back into the house, where he found that the others were beginning to share their breakfast.

When the others all stared at him upon his arrival, James tried not to let that nervousness sink down into the pit of his stomach and bother him.


	71. Sort It Out

The day passed along easily enough, and the time eventually came where James and Qrow had to decide on an arrangement for what they were going to do. Mainly, the two of them needed to decide whether Qrow would stay there in Vale, or go with James. While normally Qrow would have gone home with James, the circumstances of the day before made Qrow put his foot down and decide that it was for the best if he stayed with his family.

James understood.

But Qrow also knew that James preferred him going back to Atlas for a _reason_ , and so it just left Qrow in the middle of a very uncomfortable decision. It wasn't that he wanted to turn his back on anyone, Qrow just didn't want to leave someone out in the cold when they needed him.

Family came first though, so Qrow stayed in Vale while James drove back to Atlas alone.

He and James would be in touch, and when the time came that he needed to go back to Atlas for work, James would be there offering him a place to stay.

Having time alone with his family was something that Qrow felt like he desperately needed. He'd been missing them for a while. He missed getting woken up by Ruby first thing in the morning, and family dinners and board games. He missed bringing Zwei out in the middle of the night, and making jokes with Summer and Taiyang whenever the mood struck.

And besides, Qrow felt like getting away from James for a little bit might have just been the healthiest thing that he could do for a little while. There were things that he needed to deal with and process.

Namely, it was the night that he'd spent on the couch with James.

And some of the things that had been done and said.

Not to mention the way that the morning after had gone.

However, Qrow couldn't quite shake the feeling of being disconnected from everyone else in the house. There was an undeniable tension that had been left behind as a result of Raven's appearance, and it seemed like Yang was just doing her best to figure out where she fit with everyone else. The only one that she didn't seem to be questioning her relationship with was Ruby, and that was probably because Ruby had nothing to do with Raven.

Which was a good thing, Qrow thought. He would have preferred it if his sister wasn't making his entirely family miserable. The fact that one of them was able to spared was a good thing.

But the adults did their best, and Qrow took his role as one of the main comforters for Yang.

It was hard though. He couldn't stop his mind from trying to slide away from him and going somewhere else. He couldn't necessarily focus on the stress of being at the house when he had so many terrible things immediately on his horizon.

Work was a big part of it.

The girls were getting ready to go to bed, both walking around the house in their pajamas after dinner while the adults cleaned up. Summer and Taiyang weren't making Qrow get into the middle of that process too much, and that was a surprise in itself. After all of those years of staying there with them, he'd become used to being the one to do most of the cleaning duty.

Because of that, Qrow had to assume that they were stopping him from fulfilling it because they missed him or something. It was weird to think about, but for Qrow, it wasn't entirely unwelcome. Being able to relax was far from a bad thing, after all.

Taiyang and Summer, Ruby and Yang- they were his family. In many more ways than Raven had ever been. Blood didn't matter, not really. He loved them all the same.

He stared down at the dish that he was drying, hoping that he was going to be able to concentrate on it but finding himself mostly unable.

"Qrow?"

Taiyang was talking to him, Qrow realized through the haze that his mind felt like. He knew that he needed to do something to respond, but only found it difficult. there was just too much bouncing around in his head and he didn't quite know how to deal with any of it.

"Yeah?" He asked, not bothering to look back at his friend over his shoulder. Rude, but necessary in a way.

Taiyang leaned against the counter next to Qrow, seemingly balancing on his hip as he got a good look at his friend. "You doing okay?"

"Just great." Qrow replied, scrubbing into a spot on the dish in front of him. "Why do you ask?"

"I ask because you've been washing the same bowl for twenty minutes now."

Qrow blinked, realizing that Taiyang was correct. He had been working on the same bowl for a while and he hadn't even realized it. All that had happened was that his hands had begun to swell and prune with water.

"Ah." Qrow set it down on the drying rack beside him, hoping that he was going to be able to get past the thousands of things that were filling his mind. "Yeah, I'm..." He hesitated. "I'm fine, Tai."

Taiyang frowned, those blue eyes of his going completely sad and soft. "Are you?"

"Yeah, I think so." Qrow mumbled. "Just a lot of things on my mind, you know?"

"What's been going on?" Taiyang asked, like he thought that he didn't already know. Of course, Qrow knew that the truth was that Taiyang didn't know everything, but Tai didn't need to know that. Taiyang never needed to know the full story about anything.

"Just..." Qrow shook his head, knowing that there was never going to be a good enough lie. Besides, Taiyang knew his tells. "Stuff."

"Stuff?"

"Well..." Qrow swallowed. "Just thinking about this morning."

Taiyang raised an eyebrow, and Qrow let out a heavy sigh. He knew that he should have known that there was going to be no getting away from everything that was on his mind. That didn't make it easy, though.

The good thing was that Taiyang knew how feelings worked, at least he did better than Qrow did.

"What are you thinking about this morning for?" Taiyang asked, seeming deeply confused. Qrow figured that made sense, since he hadn't been up to see him and James that morning. And what he had seen had been so understated that Taiyang probably hadn't even noticed it.

"It's just..." Qrow shook his head. "Do you remember that time that you called James my boyfriend?"

The reaction that Qrow got out of Taiyang ended up being exactly the one that he'd expected, and Qrow wished that he hadn't been surprised by it. But Taiyang gave him a blank stare nonetheless. "Nah," Taiyang said finally raising a hand to rub at the back of his head like that was going to help him. "Can't say I do. Why?"

Qrow shook his head. "You... might have jumped the gun on the statement."

"Not working out?"

"Not quite." Qrow said as he finally dried off the dish that he'd been washing. "It's more like we just don't talk about it that much. It's not easy for me or James but..." He shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut in an attempt to calm himself at least slightly. He needed to go through this in the most level-headed way possible if he was going to get through this. "Well, I just don't know how I feel."

Taiyang leaned against the counter and took the now dry plate from Qrow, giving it a quick look over before setting it back down to dry. "Yeah, well, people don't usually make sense."

"Says the guy that had two wives."

Taiyang shrugged. "Look, nothing was ever overnight for me and them." He paused, watching Qrow. "What's really going on with you and him anyways?" The blonde's mouth opened a little bit like he was about to take a second try at the question. Like he was afraid that he'd just insulted Qrow.

"It's..." Qrow swallowed, drying his hands now. It wasn't going to be enough to make him feel more comfortable in his skin, but it was something. "Complicated."

"Yeah, I know." Taiyang deadpanned with a slight shrug. "But you could elaborate, I guess?"

Qrow sighed heavily, seeking for the right words but nothing came to mind for him to say. He needed to come up with the best way to explain anything that was going on.

"Well," Qrow started again, only feeling just the slightest bit more confident about everything. "It's like he and I both like each other a lot but neither of us want to talk about it." He crossed his arms over his chest and stepped out of the way. Taiyang slipped into the place that he'd been standing, hoping that he'd be able to fill the rest of Qrow's workload. It was something that Qrow was definitely thankful for. "I mean, Tai- it's ridiculous."

"How bad is it?" Taiyang asked, picking up a cup and turning it to peer inside and make sure that there was nothing dried to the bottom. "He seems like he's really... put together. Like he'd be able to just talk about it, I guess."

Qrow had to pause, weighing exactly what he wanted to say in his explanation, if only because he didn't actually know what was going to go. "He's... got a lot of stuff going on." Qrow mumbled quietly. He chose a spot on the tile floor to focus on, and never let himself look away from it. "And I really like the guy, but I feel like I'm ending up as a distraction to him."

"Okay, but consider this-" Taiyang said, flipping the cup over so that he could finally worm his hand down into it so that he could really wash it out properly. "If the guy's got a lot of stuff going on and is letting you in, then it means he likes you."

"Well, sure." Qrow said with a slight shrug that did nothing other than betray how he was feeling. "But it's more complicated than that. He's had me stay over there so often because..." Qrow paused. Was telling the truth about something that was going on a good idea or not? Or would he end up endangering himself somehow. Or worse, he could put James at risk. "Well, he's kind of afraid to be at his house right now. Especially alone."

Taiyang blinked, his eyes widening in something akin to understanding but never quite hitting the mark. "What do you mean?"

"Someone broke into his house, Tai." Qrow explained himself. "I don't think he's comfortable enough to have a lot of people around all the time, but he and I are close enough that he doesn't mind me being there." He shook his head. "And I don't mind being there. I mean, that tells me that I'm safe while I'm there, and it makes him feel better but…" His voice trailed off. Qrow knew that this was bad news, but he tried not to get too worried about it.

"But?"

"But I can't shake the feeling that he would rather I not be there, and he only keeps me around because I'm just the only person he knows that isn't either an ex or married."

Taiyang hissed a little bit, like he was trying to make sense of what Qrow had said for himself but was only drawing blanks. In the end, that was exactly the reaction that Qrow would have expected out of Qrow.

Qrow shook his head. If he got Taiyang to promise that he was never going to talk about the things that the two of them discussed that day, then would he theoretically be okay for them to talk about things? If Taiyang kept his word- and Qrow was sure that he could trust the guy to do so, then there was going to be some security in things.

"Like..." Qrow shook his head. His voice dropped down to barely above a whisper, and he craned his neck to make sure that there was nobody trying to get in on what he and Taiyang were talking about. It was just something that he didn't need right then. "I was staying on his couch most of the time when he and I first became friends, but then he decided he wanted me in his guest room."

"Okay." Taiyang blinked. "That sounds pretty normal."

"It's not." Qrow said, his voice surprisingly hard. "Just trust me when I say that it's not. The guy gave it to... well, a girl that's basically his adopted daughter. When she moved off on her own, it went empty." He blinked. "I think that James didn't want to give it up to someone he didn't think was going to have any place in his life."

"Okay." Taiyang said quietly. "And?"

"And so I took the guest room for a while. Pretty good deal, it meant that I wasn't getting woken up every time that Jim got up at ungodly hours in the morning." Qrow paused, knowing that he was about to touch on the part that he was most afraid to address directly. "But it changed again." He said quietly.

"How?" Taiyang replied, setting the glass in the drying rack now as he moved on to the next thing that he needed to do. "I don't know that I see what the big deal is."

Qrow blinked. He pursed his lips for a moment, hoping that he'd be able to calm himself down at least slightly. It didn't seem like it was going to be quite enough to work. But he needed to breach the topic that was on his mind, and he preferred to say it to someone like Taiyang over Summer. It wasn't that he didn't love Summer, it was just that he tended to work a bit better with Taiyang.

The guy was like a brother that never got weird with him.

"We got to a point where he and I basically share his bed most nights." Qrow finally admitted. He looked up at Taiyang through his hair, and saw that there was something trying to flit across his friend's face. "Nothing happens, but it's just..."

"Intimate?"

"Yeah." Qrow mumbled. "Then we ended up sleeping on the floor together last night." He shrugged slightly. "We ended up talking about some things, and I guess some things were said, then this morning James just…" He shook his head. "Just not feeling the most confident right now is all."

Taiyang nodded slowly, and Qrow almost felt a wave of relief over it because it meant that he at least understood what was going on in Qrow's head. Qrow figured that Taiyang probably understood it because of how Raven tended to be.

Even when they'd been young, Qrow had always figured that dating Raven had to be a nightmare, and Taiyang only ever managed to confirm that fact.

Qrow'd never thought that he'd end up with someone that had a tendency to be as frustrating as Raven was, but now he was there.

The silence lingered over them for a little longer than it should have, and eventually Taiyang spoke, offering some sort of comfort that Qrow wasn't so sure he bought.

"Well," Taiyang began, leaning against the counter and watching Qrow for a moment. "Did he ever say anything about why he left other than the excuse that he'd needed to get something out of the car?"

"No." Qrow said with an irritated tone, the words slipping out from behind grit teeth. "That's what makes it so frustrating, he left and he didn't say a word to anyone about it after that. I would have hoped that he would have at least talked to me about it, but apparently I can't trust him with that so much."

Taiyang sucked some air in from between his teeth, the inhale audible. "Yeah, that sucks." He mumbled quietly.

Instead of saying anything, Qrow let himself scrub a hand through his hair a little too hard like he thought that it was going to make him feel better. It didn't, it only served to make him wince as he tugged a little too hard on his own hair.

"I just don't get it Tai."

"I get it." Taiyang said quietly, like he thought that it was going to be enough. "You like the guy, and you two are in a weird place." The blonde shrugged, like he himself was trying to find something that he could say to make things better. "Have you two really talked about it, or..."

Qrow shook his head, frowning because he knew that he hadn't managed to find any way to get to James to actually talk about these issues. It wasn't easy, and it never had been. "Nah." He finally said quietly. "Every time that he and I actually try to talk about it's been-"

His voice trailed off as he recalled how previous conversations between himself and James had tended to go. The frustration that ended up lingering between the two of them was something that was never able to be avoided, nor was the fact that James tended to try to bolt as soon as the difficult topics got brought up.

"It's been?" Taiyang prompted, since he seemed to have figured out that Qrow was getting nowhere on his own as things were.

"Well," Qrow shook his head again, crossing his arms over his chest and trying hard not to end up hugging himself. It wasn't easy, but it was something that Qrow was at the very least capable of pulling off. "Every time that he and I get too close and try to talk about things in the past, it's always ended... well, terribly."

For a reason that was beyond himself, Qrow's expression split into a smile. He looked down at the floor, and paused, trying to find his words. "I try to talk to him, he gets nervous, you know?"

All at once, something that looked like it was akin to some sort of realization crossed Taiyang's face. Qrow didn't know what it could possibly have been, and said nothing about it. If Taiyang figured that it was worth him knowing, then he was going to say it. That was just how Taiyang was.

"Yeah, I get it." Taiyang said, his voice going all soft. He kept his gaze off to the side, and finally Taiyang looked up at him. "Have you..." He mumbled. "Have you figured that the whole you being..."

"A guy?" Qrow asked, wondering if he'd already figured out where Taiyang was trying to go with his question. "Is that what you're asking?"

"I mean, yeah!" Taiyang exclaimed. He gestured with his hands, and it was the first time that he started to look really human in that conversation. "Have you thought about him being unsure of himself because he's probably never been with another guy?"

"I mean, yeah," Qrow retorted with a snort. "Obviously. The guy's kind of been an open book as far as dating goes. Married his high school sweetheart, and nothing after that, really." Qrow paused, realizing that the statement might not have been entirely accurate but not wanting to push too far with it. This was a personal matter of James' after all.

Regardless of that, Qrow was sure that James and Glynda had been together at some point and just chose not to let others know about it.

Whether or not that was true or not was something that Qrow wasn't sure about, but he felt free to speculate on it.

"So you're not worried?" Taiyang asked. "If that might be why he's so touchy about what's going on between the two of you."

"Of course I'm worried about it." Qrow mumbled, pushing his hair out of his face again. "But he tends to act like it doesn't matter to him that much." He paused, knowing that there were a lot of things that he could never dare justify bringing up for Taiyang to know about. "He's a good guy, but he's..." He paused, looking for a word that he could find to say. "He's just got a lot of stuff going on." Qrow finally said, when nothing came to mind to say.

"Right." Taiyang answered with a pause. His expression went all somber, and he shook his head. "You said the same thing about Raven, you know that right?"

"I do." Qrow grimaced, not liking the comparison. "It's true."

"Yeah," Taiyang whispered. "It is."

Qrow paused, wondering whether or not he should ask how he was feeling about the day before. Raven showing up had been hard on everyone on the house. It was too hard to deal with, but Qrow needed to know whether or not he had to slip back into secrecy with Raven.

"Have you and Summer talked about what you want to do?" Qrow whispered finally, every word feeling too bitter on his tongue as he tried to figure things out. He closed his eyes, squeezing them shut in an attempt to calm himself but finding it difficult. It was never easy with regard to anything that happened with Raven.

Taiyang's expression sank. He sighed quietly and reached over to the sink, checking that it was indeed turned off and shook his head. Whether or not the blonde was trying to confirm an answer to Qrow was something that Qrow didn't want to think about.

"Nah," He said quietly. "I don't think that either of us really know what to do." The blonde blinked. "You know, it's not so easy having her march back in here. It was like we were at each other's throats all day yesterday and Yang seemed to take Raven being around well enough but..."

"I'm not sure either." Qrow mumbled his response. "If it makes you feel better at all."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Qrow looked up, and his and Taiyang's eyes finally met. "Raven's hard, even for me. I miss her a lot, and I was even the one seeing her most of the time. Knowing Raven is… I think it's hard for everyone."

"Right." Taiyang mumbled. "I think that Summer and I want to try, but we can't do that unless both of the kids are okay with it. Not to mention Raven."

Qrow nodded in understanding, not saying anything else about it. "I get that." He said finally. He paused, closing his eyes and hoping that it'd help to calm the beating of his heart against his chest. It wasn't going to be enough, but he still had to do his best to try anyways.

"If we do-" Taiyang spoke up again. "Will you support us either way?"

Qrow paused. That was something that he'd never expected to hear from Taiyang. It was a topic where Qrow knew he had absolutely no power, and so being asked about it was beyond him. How was he ever going to be able to get past that?

And what say did he really have in anything?

"I dunno." Qrow said quietly. "Will you guys stop if the kids start getting upset?"

Taiyang nodded slowly, smiling softly. "Yeah," He answered with a slight shrug of his own. "I get that. If we start upsetting the kids, you're not on our side. I get it."

"Thanks, Tai." Qrow murmured, smiling back at his friend just as gently. "Means a lot."

Taiyang blinked, and Qrow couldn't quite help the feeling that the guy looked a little bit like a deeply confused pigeon in that moment. He decided against commenting on it though, if only because of the fact that it would have somehow managed to feel much more out of places than most of the things that were going on in that kitchen.

"We're in the same boat, Tai." Qrow said as he looked away from his friend. He shouldn't have been separating himself from the situation in the way that he was, but at the same time, Qrow couldn't quite think of any other way that he wanted to go about things or deal with them.

There was just too much awkwardness that was slowing him down.

"We just want what's best for the family, right?" Taiyang asked.

"Yeah," Qrow confirmed with a shrug. He tried not to think about the feeling that was pressing down on his chest and making it feel like it was going to be impossible for him to breathe. The reality of the situation was that what was best for the family always had the strong possibility of someone ending up on the outs.

For Qrow, that meant that he was going to have to go back to seeing Raven in secret and sporadically.

It wasn't something that he relished, but he'd also lived for a long time like that and couldn't exactly protest against it after having lived under that routine for so long.

Taiyang let out a quiet sigh and locked his eyes onto Qrow. It was an intense enough gaze that Qrow found himself shifting away from his friend nervously, despite the fact that he knew that he didn't have all that much to worry about. He liked Taiyang, but there was just something about the scrutiny he couldn't handle anymore.

"You know we love you, right Qrow?" Taiyang asked, his voice quiet as ever.

Qrow blinked. Now he was sure that he was the one looking like a confused bird, and he was sure that was something that Taiyang would have _definitely_ commented on in any other situation. That was just how the two of them tended to be.

But he couldn't figure out why Taiyang would be bringing that sort of thing up for the life of him.

"Yeah?" Qrow asked, knowing that he was probably sounding a lot more uneasy than he would have liked.

"We do." Taiyang said quietly. "Me and Summer, the kids. Hell, even Zwei."

"Zwei loves anyone that gives him food." Qrow retorted. It wasn't the point, and Qrow knew that. He was just doing his best to make things feel a little less awkward and heavy. If he could break the tension, then maybe it would have been better.

All that Qrow knew at this point was that he was ready to stop going to the kitchen since it seemed all of the heavy conversations in his life took place there.

"Yeah," Taiyang chuckled, a smile quirking rather obviously at the corners of his lips. "Well, it's true. We don't want to lose you."

"Course not." Qrow laughed, shrugging with the motion despite his still crossed arms. "Who would make your breakfasts?"

"You're part of the family, Qrow." Taiyang said quietly. His voice dropped in volume and he actually edged just a little bit closer to Qrow. "I know that things get hard and that it's probably hard for you to buy the whole..." He gestured with a wave of his arms that Qrow figured he was supposed to be able to interpret, but mostly found himself wondering about.

So Qrow's first response was to shake his head and do his best to point out how little he understood of what Taiyang had just tried to communicate... whatever that was.

"The whole family thing." Taiyang said finally. "I know that even back in the day you were always a little more distant from us and it killed me and Summer because we knew it was just you wanting to give Raven..."

"Space." Qrow answered, knowing that he was beginning to sound a little bit bitter. "And then she bailed on us."

"You didn't though." Taiyang said quietly. "And I'm sorry that me and Summer might have..." He paused, pursing his lips and tearing those blue eyes of his away from Qrow as he tried to find the right thing to say. "Well, we've probably implied that we think you're going to run."

"And?"

Taiyang hesitated for just a moment, his mouth dropping open just slightly before an all too heavy sigh escaped him. "And I just wanted to try and apologize to you for all of that." He explained as carefully as he could manage. "It's not fair to you."

Qrow blinked, feeling almost unsure about how he was supposed to be taking what Taiyang had said. It was nice to know that there was any sort of apology out there, and he was willing to cherish it. The only thing was that now that it had been said, Qrow didn't know what to do.

"Uh," He finally thought of something to say, letting the words slip out and taking his time to relax. "Thanks, Tai."

"It's no problem, Qrow." Taiyang whispered. "I just realized that you probably haven't been feeling as great about things around here since..." He paused, weighing what he wanted to say next. "Well, everything."

It was the best that Qrow was going to get out of Taiyang, and he accepted that. He closed his eyes and let out a quiet sigh again, rubbing his hands together in front of him in an attempt to make himself calm down slightly.

"Thanks." He replied again. For a moment, Qrow's mind drifted off, back to Atlas since he knew that he was going to have work to do once he got there. There wasn't any getting around all of it, but he had to do his best to stay there at the house mentally for as long as he could manage.

Taiyang paused, pursing his lips and looking down at the ground before taking a step forward to gently pat Qrow's shoulder. "Look, I've got the dishes. Why don't you just..." The man smiled softly at Qrow. "Go and spend time with the kids or something?"

It was a welcome chance to get out, and so Qrow took it.

He smiled across at his friend and nodded. "Sounds good, Tai." He began on his way to the edge of the kitchen, and just before he was about to leave the kitchen, Qrow stopped himself. "I'll try."

"I've got this, Qrow." Taiyang insisted, his eyes narrowing just slightly. "Go and try to enjoy yourself."

Qrow didn't say anything else. He nodded one last time and slipped out of the kitchen before making his way over to the living room where everyone else in the house was already gathered. He took his seat and calmed himself down, made himself comfortable, and did his best to focus on the movie that was playing on the tv.


	72. Back to the Obelisk

It was early in the morning, and James was _restless_. It had been a few days since he'd gone home after spending all of his time at the Xiao Long-Rose house. He'd needed all of the distance that he could possibly get from Qrow for just a little bit. There was too much flitting through his head at any given time, and on a night like this one, he was just too tired to concentrate on much of anything.

But he hadn't been able to find a way to get himself to rest, either.

The last few days had been a matter of James falling into the routine of doing his things for work once the night began. Tonight, James' task was that he was up and going over the weaponry and the supplies that Ozpin had helped to acquire for the group and the things that were coming ahead.

What that meant for James was he had to fill bag after bag of supplies. Each one was about the same. Weapons, ammunition, burner radios, a bomb and detonator or two. James sincerely helped that he wasn't going to have to see anyone use any of those supplies, but he wasn't banking on the possibility that they were going to be getting off on this job scott free.

James found himself in a regular pattern of starting and then stopping again every time that he was trying to fill yet another bag. The memories of what had happened in the past were all still too strong on the back of his mind. The possibility that he would find himself reliving any of it was too there, and there was no way that he was going to be able to forget any of it either.

He took a deep breath and leaned against the desk, looking away from his work and reaching for his phone. James didn't know what he was hoping to find there, but he went to his text messages anyways like he thought that it would make him feel better. There was nothing from Qrow, which James figured was a good thing considering the way that everything else had been going poorly.

Nothing was enough to make him relax, and so James sighed. He stood up, put his phone in his pocket, and did his best to forget about work for a little while.

James needed to talk to someone if he was going to be able to relax enough to rest.

But there also probably wasn't anyone else that he was going to be able to go to that would be able to understand.

Even despite that, James left his house and went to his car, climbing in because the very least that he could do to try and help himself relax was try to separate himself from the reality of what he was doing for work.

The entire evening, James found himself making a point to never make a plan for where he was going to go. All that doing that would end up doing was throw him off worse.

He might have driven for close to fifteen minutes before James finally decided that he wanted to throw caution to the wind and make his way out of Atlas and drive back towards Vale.

James didn't know what it was pulling him towards Vale, but he was fairly certain that he knew exactly where he wanted to be.

When things got hard, there was always the obelisk.

The most troubling part of the plan to go to that little park was the fact that James found himself actually hoping that he'd somehow run into someone there.

Ozpin was at the top of his list of people that James was hoping to see.

But he didn't know what he actually wanted to see Ozpin.

But still James drove, if only because he couldn't think of anything else to do with himself other than to find himself stewing in his own head. He didn't bother to reach over to turn on the radio, and once again James found himself pressing a little harder against the gas pedal than he should have been.

The speed worked down into his bones. It made his heartbeat against his chest as he tried to find the single best way that he could make himself relax. The speed was liberating, and when James found himself at the edge of Vale, he stopped at a red light and even let himself slip out of his glove.

The world swirled around him, and finally James made his way to the park that he'd spent so many times at before. Over the course of his life, he'd stopped here so many times. James didn't know if he was going to find himself alone or not, and James was ready for whatever happened.

If worse came to worse, then James was ready to buy a night in a motel so that he didn't have to drive back to Vale.

He parked and climbed out of his car, taking his time to stretch on the way out. James paused there at the car door before he let it close, unsure of whether or not he wanted to bring his phone into the park with him. In theory, it would have been better if he took his time alone for what it was, but if someone ended up needing him...

James didn't want to think about what could happen if he ended up out of contact with someone when they needed him there.

But he had come here to relax and breathe, and so James ultimately decided that it was for the best for him to just stow his phone away in the glovebox of his car.

James closed the door to his car and was careful to lock it before he finally left the parking lot for good and began the walk down the gravel path to the old monument that he'd spent so much of his time at in the past. This time, he was going to hopefully calm down.

Showing up at the park this time felt eerily similar, though. It was a similarly cool night, and it was around the same time of night.

Part of the reality of the situation had changed, though, and James had realized that. Last time, James had been coming because he'd only been looking to relax in the face of impending doom.

This time, he was just doing his best to stave off those feelings before work came up that needed to be taken care. If he was supposed to be leading anything, then he needed to come into the room with a level head every time. There was going to be a meeting on the next night, and James needed to have his things together for everyone else's sake.

He needed to keep Qrow safe, and Roman and Junior, Glynda, and Winter even. Hell, James even wanted to know that _Ozpin_ was going to be fine once this job was over.

Deep down, James wasn't really sure why he was feeling that way other than the reality of the situation being that Ozpin was at the end of the day a person. Maybe not a _good_ person, but still a person. James didn't want to be letting anyone get hurt in this situation.

He was scared.

He was scared for everyone else's sake, and James needed to have his things together before he made his way back home to prepare them all for a meeting and get things ready for the robbery.

Oh, he was afraid.

James lowered himself down onto the bench that he'd used on his last time here at the memorial and closed his eyes. He took a moment to lean back in his seat and take a deep breath to try and calm himself down as he sat there.

Thousands of thoughts and feelings seemed to flit through James' mind, despite the fact that he had nothing to really be worrying or concerned with. It was impossible for him to slow down and catch any of them, and James couldn't help his frustration.

His eyes slipped shut, and James tried to distantly call up the exact things that he needed to figure out, and put them in some sort of order. His priorities needed to be sorted out properly, and James was sure that he knew how most of it was supposed to fit together.

There was Qrow. Oh, there was Qrow. He stuck in the back of James' mind and his touch seemed to be enough to linger on James' skin. If he thought hard enough on it, James could even still feel Qrow's lips against his, and he could ear the other man's whisper in his ears.

Of all of the things that James needed to be thinking about, Qrow was probably the lowest priority. Their relationship was a mess, and James was going to get it figured out eventually. He didn't know how that was going to end up happening, and James was deathly afraid of what could happen after this job.

James was still going to have to leave.

That was just the reality of the situation.

After that, there was the job itself. He had to think about what happened to all of the others. There needed to be reconnaissance on the bank before they got things done. James needed to keep his people safe, any way possible.

He needed to take his time to be able to make sure that every piece fell into line. James needed to check that all of the jobs were in order, he needed to talk to Ozpin and make sure that the getaway and vehicles were taken care of.

James needed to make sure that the bags and supplies were ready, though James figured that was a job half done.

To finish gathering the supplies, James just needed to be able to take the time to concentrate on everything that he was working on.

He couldn't avoid it for too long, if only because there was so much for him to work on.

James shifted in the seat where he was sitting, turning and even letting himself lie down on the bench and relax there for a little while. Even still, after everything that he'd been through, James couldn't feel afraid there for that long. This place had always been there for him to comfort him.

It was easier for him to think on all of the good times that he'd spent there at the memorial than the bad ones.

James sucked in a deep breath through his nose. The air had a scent that was only really able to be described as pleasant as he inhaled it. The cool air against his skin and his prosthetic hand, the darkness, and the quiet of the area was exactly what he'd needed. The only sounds that broke into the area were the quiet noise of nature itself.

When the hour struck, then there were going to be the chimes, but that wasn't such a big concern to James.

For now, he just wanted to enjoy the quiet.

And even then, he could think of ways that he wouldn't be so bothered by it if he stayed there.

For instance, if he heard the quiet tapping and uneven walk of Ozpin on the gravel path, James would have welcomed it.

This time, if Ozpin came to speak to him, he wouldn't run from them. He wouldn't feel afraid.

He'd seen more than enough of them over the course of his life to be able to sit there and relax at this point. Despite everything that he and Ozpin had gone through since their first meeting, a rapport had begun to build between the two of them that James could honestly say that he valued.

It wasn't necessarily the best rapport that could be between two people possible, but that wasn't what mattered to James so much. To him, this was about the fact that he now wasn't looking at Ozpin as unknown territory.

James didn't know how long he laid there. He let his hand drop to the stone bench that he was lying on, letting his fingers stroke over the stone and taking in the texture and coolness. It was a repetitive motion that he could use to calm him, and the quiet scraping sound of his fingers against the stone didn't bother him. It was actually pleasant to listen to.

To both surprise and no surprise, there was the sound of someone walking down the path. James paused and pushed himself upright, already slipping his right hand away in his pocket so that he wouldn't have to worry about it later. If it was someone new, then he wasn't going to worry.

Of course, there was always the possibility that him keeping a hand down in his pocket could end up getting misread, but James wasn't that worried.

At this time of night, the odds that someone was there without bad intentions were low. Of course, even then, James doubted that anyone other than him would be at the memorial.

"I see you're here." A voice broke through the quiet.

James didn't need to look over to see who it was, and he only let his expression split into a slight smile.

"Ozpin." James greeted his guest. "I see you're here too."

"I am." Ozpin said, taking a few steps forward and looking down at James as he sat there on the bench. "I get the feeling that you like to come here when you're upset."

James paused, a little bit unsure of how he wanted to answer that, but he decided to answer anyways. "You could say that." He mumbled quietly. "I come here when I have... decisions to make."

"So work is on your mind, then?"

"Yes." James answered. He turned and looked over at Ozpin for a moment before speaking up for himself in the hopes of figuring out what Ozpin was doing there. James didn't want to consider the possibility that they were once again there to rattle him into doing something for them. "Why are you here?"

"Similar reasons as you, I suppose." Ozpin answered as calmly as ever. "Is that so criminal?"

James pursed his lips and shook his head. "No," He answered. "It's not."

James hesitated, not wanting to make the retort that was dancing on his tongue over the comment with regards to what _was_ criminal. When it came to Ozpin, James fully suspected that everything ultimately ended up being criminal in some way or another.

So instead of saying anything, James raised his hand and gestured to the space on the bench beside him. "Would you like to sit?" James asked, keeping his voice even and his tone calm. There was no use in letting himself get too worried.

After all, right now it was possible for him to stand by and let things develop naturally.

Ozpin didn't answer James, and they took the rest of the bench and relaxed themselves. "So you're here in Vale again."

"I am." James said quietly, looking up at the obelisk memorial like he thought that it was going to somehow be enough to make him feel better about everything that was happening. "I like to come here when-"

"When things get hard?" Ozpin guessed, cutting James off before he could finish. James hesitated and took his time before he let himself speak. Ozpin didn't give him the chance to speak up, and James was ultimately even glad for it. "And what is bothering you tonight?"

"Just work." James explained, confirming Ozpin's question with a slow, subtle nod. "I was trying to prepare the packs for the job but-" He gestured vaguely, waving his hands in front of himself when he couldn't find the words.

"I understand." Ozpin said, not letting James say anything else. It was a good thing that they had, because James wasn't sure how far he was going to end up going when he kept on talking. "Is there something else that's been bothering you?"

It was a question that was too hard to answer for James. It came with too many additional layers of meaning that James wasn't comfortable really confronting. He didn't want for Ozpin to know too much about what was going on in his life, or anything else beyond that. Ozpin already knew more than enough about his daughter.

James didn't know that he wanted for Ozpin to know that what was going on with Qrow was something that weighed so heavily on James' mind.

It was too personal.

"Yes." James gave an answer eventually. "I'd rather not discuss it though."

Ozpin raised an eyebrow and turned their head to look over at James more directly. "Is there something wrong?"

"No." James mumbled, clasping his hands together in front of him and letting himself lean forward and make himself a little bit more comfortable as they talked. "Not really. Nothing that would have an impact on work."

Not seriously, James thought to himself.

To pretend that whatever was going on between himself and Qrow would end up having no impact on things whatsoever was naive at best in James' eyes.

If there was emotional attachment, there was a place where they could inevitably fail. James didn't want to be the one to ruin how the job went again.

Not after last time.

He'd already given Ozpin enough. He wasn't going to give any more.

Ozpin was watching him though, their gaze a little too intense from behind the too-small glasses that they wore. It was scrutiny, it made James feel like he was being placed under a microscope for reasons that he didn't want to consider.

Either Ozpin had figured out that he was lying, or they had figured out that there was much more to what he was doing. Maybe they were just trying to divine the truth for themself and deciding not to pry.

Although, James figured that Ozpin had already seen more than enough to tell them what they had to expect when it came to his and Qrow's relationship.

They knew how close the two of them were.

They just didn't know the specifics. Or at least, that was what James was hoping for. He didn't know that he'd actually be able to do that well if he knew that Ozpin had figured out the specifics of what was between him and Qrow.

"It's really nothing." James reiterated, his eyes flicking over to Ozpin and back away all within the space of a few seconds. "I'm just trying to relax for a little bit and when I'm here..." James' voice trailed off as he tried to find the absolute right set of words that he could use with Ozpin. "Well, I feel like my mind is actually clear, is all."

"I understand." Ozpin said quietly. "It's a rather nice park, isn't it?"

"It is." James confirmed, looking up at the obelisk again and remembering so many other times that he'd been here. So many times, he would have killed to have someone to talk to and tell him that he was either making a mistake or doing things right.

And now that he had that, James didn't even know how he wanted to react to it.

James couldn't help the subtle urge in the back of his mind that told him that he should go ahead and explain himself to Ozpin and tell them why he liked this park in particular. He knew fully well that it was overstepping the bounds of what their relationship was, if it could even be called a relationship.

Either way, James didn't let himself get too worked up in it.

"James-" Ozpin began, snapping James out of his own thoughts and back to reality where he fit better anyways. James blinked twice and turned to face his companion more directly, if only because it was a way to make the conversation feel more real or more relatable. More human, even. "Are you going to be ready for this job when it comes?" Ozpin asked too calmly. "Or should I prepare to pick up slack?"

"I'm going to be ready." James said calmly. "I know that's probably hard to believe coming from me and knowing everything that's happened, but I mean it. I'm going into this job, and I'm doing it right."

Ozpin nodded slowly and let out a quiet sigh before speaking again. "I pray you're right."

"Ozpin?" James asked, looking over at them out of the corner of his eye. "Is there a reason that you ask?"

"I don't want any casualties on this job as long as we can help it." Ozpin answered. "I'm sure that's something that you're able to relate to?"

James swallowed hard, and tried hard not to think of all of the times that things had almost gone terribly, terribly wrong while he'd been working for Ozpin. He tried not to think about a teenage girl that he'd held at gunpoint. He tried not to think about the fact that it was very likely someone had died in the car crash that had taken his limbs. He tried not to think about the fact that they had probably been responsible for the losses of more than one life between him and Ozpin.

Of course, anything that had been done in the name of the group eventually traced back to Ozpin, and no matter what, they were all complicit in everything that happened.

But that as just a reality of being a criminal. The others in the group were his brothers in arms, and some were closer than others. That was just how things were. It wasn't going to ever be enough to make James care for them less or worry about them any less.

He wanted his friends safe, that's all that James really wanted at the end of the day.

"Yes." He answered finally, knowing that he'd taken far too long to say something. Ozpin had noticed his silence, James was absolutely sure of it, and he didn't want to bring it up. He didn't want Ozpin to know about how many things weighed on the back of his mind. He didn't want for Ozpin to know the extent of his sins.

Even if Ozpin was at the top of the heap, and they knew everything that went on in the group, that wasn't enough to make James feel like he could actually let them know how far things would reach. He doubted that they knew the full extent of how things tended to go. They'd been disconnected for so long, and James knew for a fact that there ere just things that people didn't talk about amongst themselves within the group. Nobody wanted to go ahead and say that they'd held someone at gunpoint.

Somehow despite everything, it was a topic that remained taboo.

"I don't want to see this fail," Ozpin said quietly. "I know you know that."

"I do." James mumbled his reply, letting himself clasp his hands together in front of him. Ozpin knew about the hand. Ozpin wouldn't say anything unless they thought that there was something worth talking about when it came to that particular injury. "I don't want it to fail either." He paused. "The stakes are too high on this job, and that's across the board."

"You want your daughter back." Ozpin stated matter of factly. "It's understandable that you wouldn't want to risk this job failing for that reason alone."

"She's my child," James muttered. "She's the only family that I have left at this point, and I don't want to lose her." He paused, taking a deep breath. A thought tried to creep up into the back of his consciousness, but James forced himself to ignore it. It wasn't worth getting distracted with Qrow while Ozpin was there. "And I don't want to see what will happen if I don't manage to get this job done and win her back."

Ozpin was watching him so closely that James felt like he was being treated like a specimen under a microscope. He didn't like how common that feeling was at all, but James also couldn't get around it. It was uncomfortable, it made him hurt.

But Ozpin was his greatest ally when it came to getting custody back over Penny. While James would turn to Qrow for support and for comfort, Qrow didn't have the ability to really help him. Ozpin apparently had people that they could contact that would be able to help James.

No matter how much James felt unsettled by Ozpin and their presence, he couldn't ignore it. James needed Ozpin. There was all that there was to it.

And James had a feeling, deep down, that Ozpin did actually need him too but didn't say anything about it. James didn't know how the job would be going if he wasn't there to help push things along. Things were already difficult enough as they were.

They needed each other, and they were going to be reaching critical mass as far as work went soon.

James took a deep breath and spoke up finally.

"You think we can do this?" James asked quietly, looking over at Ozpin out of the corner of his eye.

"I'm hoping as much." Ozpin replied, all too calmly. "This job has high stakes for all of us, James."

"Have you told any of the others that?"

"No." Ozpin answered. "But with a payout like we're expecting on this job, I'm sure that we're going to be seeing people leave our ranks regardless." They paused, hesitating. "This may be the end of our work together James. And I don't mean that for just you."

"Of course." James mumbled, knowing that his jaw was starting to tighten and his frustration and worry was becoming more and more evident as the two of them sat there together in the dark. It was getting colder, and James could feel it beginning to worm its way down into his bones as he sat there with Ozpin. He was going to need to go back inside at some point, but that wasn't the biggest concern that James had.

He had to drive home, and that was the bigger worry that James had by far.

"You're going to be fine, James." Ozpin said quietly. It was almost like they were realizing that there was something wrong. They knew that James was unnerved. That was terrifying in its own way, and James didn't think that he was going to really be able to find a way to recover from it. Ozpin had just found more of a way to worm their way under his skin and work him into some sort of feeling of something that was almost akin to security.

"Am I?" James asked, keeping his voice down as far as he could manage.

"I believe so, James." Ozpin replied, staring at the monument in front of the two of them like they were going to find something there to comfort them both. "You're more than capable, and that's true of the others as well."

"It doesn't usually feel that way," James mumbled. "Reprimands are too common."

"I disagree," Ozpin answered without even a pause. "The work we do is high risk. It's not worth it to take such things not seriously enough and risk things falling apart." They paused. "You realize that if one of you get caught, it gets traced to me."

James blinked, feeling something settle in the pit of his stomach that he could only describe as extreme discomfort. Somehow, he had never thought about the possibility. Perhaps it was that distance that they'd set between themself and the rest of the group that made James think that way. Never being connected directly had taken a toll on the group, but now Ozpin was there and active with the rest of the group much more directly.

But of course, they had always been able to be traced to with their name- regardless of whether or not Ozpin was a pseudonym or not. Ozpin had always been present, they'd always been the one at the head and in command.

Circumstances had changed, that was all.

"I do." James finally said, knowing that his answer was a little bit more than just belated. There was no getting past all of this. This situation was a bad one. He had to make his way through things if he was going to be able to function remotely well when they were on the job. "I just can't keep myself from feeling like something is going to go wrong."

"Is that all?"

"No." James muttered, thinking back to his friends, His arm felt like it ached, and James couldn't help the urge to pick his hand up and rub at the junction between skin and flesh at the nap of his neck. "It's not."

The weight of Ozpin's eyes on him were too much. It made him feel like he was about to cave in on himself, and James didn't say anything about it. Ozpin knew what they were doing to him. James was already expecting to end up being questioned or prodded about what he'd been doing, but Ozpin didn't go that far.

Instead they reached into their pocket to remove a phone, checking the time on it. They hummed quietly and looked over at James. "I suspect you don't want to talk about whatever it is that's on your mind?"

"No." James mumbled quietly. "I'd rather not."

"Very well." Ozpin answered, almost sounding like they were uncomfortable with the current revelation, but they didn't prod any further with the issue. James was being left alone, and it was comforting. "It's late."

"It is." James replied.

"You should be driving back to Atlas, shouldn't you?"

James nodded slowly, knowing that there was nothing that was holding him there any longer. He took a deep breath, weighing his options because it was all too easy for him to just check in at one of the motels in Vale instead of driving home. But he knew for a fact that his house was safe that night, even if it was a little too calm and quiet with nobody else there.

Emptiness was normal though, James had to remind himself. Having someone else at the house was the thing that was out of the norm- Qrow was the anomaly.

"I should." James answered after a long moment. "It is late."

Ozpin nodded slowly. "You should be going home." They reiterated, in a way that almost made it sound like an order. "I'll be seeing you in a few nights, James."

"Right." James mumbled, taking a deep breath and staring up at the monument in front of him. Ozpin was walking away, the biggest indicator of that being the sound of their footsteps against the gravel, followed closely by the sound of their cane against the gravel.

James was alone, and he needed to go home.

He took a too-deep breath, rubbed at his shoulder, and then he was on his way back to his car so that he could go home alone.

To no surprise whatsoever, there was no sign of Ozpin or how they'd gotten there.

James tried not to think about it as he drove back to Atlas, going a little too fast the entire way home.


	73. Role Call

Several days later, Qrow was back in Atlas for the first time in a while. Taiyang had been nice enough to drop him off at James' house, and had even decided that he wanted to stick around at the house for just a little while. It was a surprisingly calm environment. Despite the fact that it was obvious that James hadn't been expecting the extra company, things worked out pretty well for everyone.

He was glad for it, mostly because it meant that things were surprisingly calm and they were able to get by and do whatever they needed.

Taiyang might have stuck around for an hour, mostly going back to Vale once it was mentioned that James and Qrow had to be getting ready for a meeting that was coming along all too quickly for them both.

Finally, he and James were alone. It wasn't going to last. Soon there were going to be people arriving at the house for the meeting, and Qrow could tell that there was a current of obvious nervousness that was hanging underneath James' skin. It was a pulse that refused to go away.

So Qrow stepped in close to his friend and nuzzled in against James' shoulder. "Hey." He said quietly, realizing that this was his first chance to really let James know that he was glad to be there.

"Hi." James said quietly, sounding equally reserved. "You made it."

"I did." Qrow answered, pushing himself up so that he could gently press his lips against James' in a slow kiss. It lingered for a moment, and Qrow couldn't help the curling delight in his chest at the realization that James' hands had settled on his waist. It was close, and neither of them were ready to pull away from the situation.

"Thank you." James mumbled, his eyes half-lidded as he rested his forehead against Qrow's, with some slight effort. "They're going to be getting here soon."

Qrow grimaced, knowing that James was right but not really wanting to think about or acknowledge it too much. It was going to be a difficult day for them both, and he wanted to do his best to be there for James to keep him comfortable and calm once the meeting was over and done with.

James got exhausted too easily, after all. Not that Qrow could really blame him for it at all. If he was like James, then he would have been the same way in all likelihood.

"I know." Qrow muttered, not bothering to pull away from James at all, if only because things were hard to think about. It was for the best if they two of them stuck together for as long as they could manage. "We'll stop when they get here.'

He was expecting for James to protest it. It was all that he could expect, for James to get frustrated and try to pull away from it really quickly. But James didn't do that, he let himself stand there and stayed close to Qrow. He never moved to remove his hands from Qrow's hips, and Qrow was halfway expecting for James to even let his hands slip lower, but James didn't do that. He was too much of a gentleman.

The two of them lingered there for as long as they wanted to. The only thing that made either James or Qrow pull away was the sound of a knock on the door, which told them rather plainly that it was time to separate. Qrow didn't say much to James, he did take the chance to sit down on the couch and wait while James got the door.

Again, Qrow was struck with some frustration and even jealousy when he heard the voice of the person that had decided to come and see them. Glynda's voice first, and oh, how that left Qrow worried. He still didn't know what it was about having Glynda around, but the woman's presence alone was enough to unnerve him and make him jealous.

Nothing was there between James and Glynda. No matter how many times Qrow watched the two of them, it never sank in properly.

Glynda stepped inside and James closed the door behind her while she stepped out of the pair of heels that she'd arrived in. Qrow watched as James and Glynda went over to the kitchen so that James could get Glynda something in the meantime. They took their time, and Qrow was mostly seething as he sat on the couch in James' living room.

Soon the two of them joined him in the living room and Glynda seated herself beside Qrow.

"Qrow." She greeted him, her green eyes a little too intense. "It's good seeing you."

"Same to you.' Qrow answered, watching Glynda closely as she made herself comfortable. James had decided not to sit down, like he was afraid of what was going to happen if he did. It was James though, so Qrow was sure that James was staying standing up just in case he ended up having to go back to the door so that he could let in Roman and Junior, Ozpin, or Winter whenever they arrived.

Whenever they arrived. That didn't feel good to think about. Qrow didn't like thinking about how long the two of them were going to be there alone with Glynda.

"Thank you for coming early." James said quietly. "I've been worrying about this job." He lowered himself into one of the spare seats that they'd brought into the living room. He didn't let himself get too comfortable, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his legs as he tried to make himself more comfortable. "It's been kind of a constant lately."

"Ozpin said something to that effect." Glynda replied, keeping her voice a little more calm than James would have like. "This job seems to have everyone worried."

"You've also been talking to Roman and Junior, then?" James asked, watching Glynda closely. Somehow, between all of it, Qrow almost felt like he was completely out of place and like he needed to slip away from them at any moment. Things were too hard as they were. "They've been feeling the worry harder than most, from what I've seen."

Glynda's eyes narrowed, and she spoke too clearly. So intensely that it was actually intimidating. "You know there's a reason for that, James."

"I do." James confirmed, not bothering to deny what Glynda had said at all. "It's just that things have been difficult."

"Are you going to be okay?"

"Yes." James said quietly. "I think so. If not-" James clicked his jaw shut and tried to bury the thought as it tried to emerge in his thoughts.

With his eyes trailed on James, Qrow was able to see the way that his jaw had tensed with those words. Not confident enough to make things happen properly. He was tired, he was exhausted, and James was hiding it.

Qrow had a feeling that he was going to end up curling up with the guy later on so that they could calm down together.

Glynda and James managed to slip off onto chatter that Qrow wasn't quite able to follow along with. It sounded like the two of them were going over fine details in the plan, both doing their best to find holes in the plan. Glynda hadn't been involved in putting things together, but the trust was still there.

Unnecessary jealousy continued to boil under Qrow's skin. Completely unwarranted.

The door rang after about ten minutes, and this time Qrow was the one to get the door and see who was there. Sure enough, it was Roman and Junior, both looking a little more than frazzled but ready. The two of them came in, and then Winter arrived another five minutes later.

Normally, that was the entire crew, and so they would be able to get going and start their meeting without Ozpin.

But glancing over at James and seeing the way that the guy wouldn't stop checking the clock, Qrow was willing to bet that wasn't going to be the case. He wanted for Ozpin to be there when they started.

Qrow couldn't do anything to offer James comfort though, not with everyone there and not when James was already on edge as is.

He got up and went up to the front of the room, just so that he could check and make sure that James had everything in order that he needed to present for the others. This time, they'd decided to host the group in James' living room. Qrow figured that it was because James' office could get cramped.

He hadn't really asked about it.

Currently, James was staring down at his map and he looked up from it to the wall in front of him. Qrow stepped in and looked around, trying to find something for James to use.

"Think you've got it?" Qrow asked, watching James closely.

"I think so." James mumbled his response. "We're just waiting for Ozpin to get here."

"And?" Qrow replied. "Are you going to be okay for this?"

"I will be." James answered with a slight shrug. "I just need..."

There was a knock on the door, and James didn't even bother to finish what he was saying. He set the map down and turned, heading straight to the door. Qrow sighed and sat down on the couch next to Junior, who just offered him a soft pat on the shoulder and some words that the man didn't seem to want to say out loud.

James was talking to Ozpin, and soon the door was closing as the two of them stepped outside. That alone was enough to leave Qrow feeling like he was going to fall apart. It was a sort of anxiety beginning to bubble up in his chest that he wasn't used to. Why would James and Ozpin need to step outside when there was something to do?

It didn't last long. Soon enough James and Ozpin were stepping inside, the two of them both carrying some cardboard boxes to James' office. There wasn't any way that could possibly be a good thing. Qrow watched the two of them, but once they had dropped off whatever it was that they were carrying with them, James and Ozpin were stepping into the living room so that the meeting could begin.

"Please, settle down." Ozpin said to the room. All that changed with those words was that the last few people that were on their feet were settling into the seating there in the living room. "I'm sorry about the delay."

James picked up the map, posting it on the wall with the use of some sticky tack. He seemed to be hesitating there, at the front of the room, until he was turning around to face the room.

"Now that Ozpin is here we can get started." James said quietly. "The date of our heist is getting closer and we have to get onto things so that we can start getting this done. First, we have to go over some details-"

"The heist will be initiated with the use of an armored vehicle." Ozpin said quietly. "The majority of you will be posing as crew."

A certain sort of silence settled over the room over that particular revelation, but Qrow supposed that he wasn't really that surprised by that being the outcome of the situation. This was the first time where the final details on the job were being given. It wasn't going to be easy, but it was a chance to tie up loose ends and really get things done.

The first one that decided to speak up was Roman, and Qrow couldn't pretend like he was surprised by that at all.

"So if we're going to be posing as crew, what specific roles are we going to be playing?" Roman asked, leaning in slightly and watching their leaders. "Because if we're going to be playing crew, I think that snowflake might not be able to play the part."

Ozpin gave an unamused hum and looked over at James. James seemed to let out a quiet sigh and took a moment before giving a response of any sort.

"The positions on the job have been decided between myself and Ozpin." James explained as calmly as he could manage. "Winter will be in an external role that puts her-" He seemed to pause, his expression softening for just a split second as James tried to find the exact words that he wanted to say to explain himself in this situation. " _Out_ of the grip of danger, at least initially."

Qrow couldn't be surprised at all when he saw the fact that Winter wasn't looking all that pleased with the revelation. She was still young, and Qrow was sure that they were going to end up with a problem where they weren't going to be able to keep her out of things. James would only assign Winter out of the face of danger if he thought that she was at risk.

But at the same time, Qrow was sure that James had a feeling that everyone involved in the group was at risk in some way or another. It was a matter of keeping them all calm and keeping the situation relaxed. James took a deep breath and picked his head up.

"We'll be going over exact positions in a few minutes." JAmes said quietly. "Just let us explain things as we go."

Ozpin nodded in affirmation and looked over at James. "May I continue?"

"You may." James said, calm as ever.

Ozpin nodded slowly.

"The majority of you will be posing as delivery crew and will be expected at the warehouse first thing in the morning. We'll have to be arriving at the bank at six fifteen that evening, sharp." Ozpin blinked, looking over at James and then back over at the rest of the group. "When we arrive, we'll be thought to be the actual delivery company and should be granted access to the building easily enough."

"How are we keeping the actual crew away from the bank?" Junior asked the question and looked up at James for a moment, seeking any sort of answer.

"Easy," James said, glancing over at Glynda and nodding to her. "Glynda and I have discussed this issue a bit, we know for a fact that we have spike strips that we're going to lay on the delivery route to delay their arrival."

"Will that work?" Roman asked, leaning in slightly.

"Yes." James said quietly. "You have to trust us on that, but it should go flawlessly." He picked his head and glanced over at Glynda. "Once Winter has done her job, will you be able to take her to lay the strips together?"

"It shouldn't be too difficult." Glynda replied with a slight toss of her hair.

"Good." Ozpin said quietly. "We'll be able to delay the arrival of the actual delivery truck, and should be able to execute our plan before any authorities can be made aware of what is going on." They paused and glanced over at James now. "Is there anything else to report on that front?"

"Yes." James said calmly. "We'll all be connected via radio for this job and so it's up to all of you to be able to make sure that you're in contact. We can't risk any part of the job falling apart on account of lack of communication."

"Very well." Ozpin said calmly before continuing. "For those of you that will be arriving in the truck, we'll be making a fast trip to the back of the bank and making our ways inside."

"Anything important?"

"Yes." James said calmly. "Once we've arrived in the truck, all of the people on board will be unboarding and will need to pose as though they are actual guards. He paused. "The good news about a job like this is that the security roles that we'd be playing would already require us to be armed, so there should be little to worry about as far as being discreet goes once we're at the bank is."

Ozpin nodded slowly. "If things go well, there should be no need to cause any conflict with the bank staff." They explained calmly. "If anything happens that goes poorly, then you'll be ready for whatever happens. However, that's not something that we're looking forward to or expecting to have to deal with at any point." They paused and took a long moment. "Once inside, you'll be making your ways to the vault to make what looks like a normal pickup."

"So once that's done." James picked up the conversation now, bringing the attention back over to him and directing it away from where he was. "We'll be departing the bank in the truck. While we're driving, it'll be up to everyone in the truck to both change into civvies, and to pack any of the money that we got into bags."

He took a moment to pause, and Qrow watched as James lifted a hand to idly rub at his shoulder in an attempt to calm himself down and relax. Stress was getting to him, and that was all too obvious. Qrow couldn't help the feeling that he was going to have to worry about whatever was going on in James' head that night.

Cuddling would help, he hoped. It wasn't as though there was much else that Qrow would be able to do for James.

The room was silent, everyone in the area doing their best to take in what had just been said. Qrow figured that James and Ozpin were doing their best to give everyone a chance to absorb everything that had just been said. It was a good thing, and Qrow was sure that if it wasn't for the fact that he had been hearing about their plans over the course of the last few weeks.

It lingered for a moment, and then when it came time for them to continue on the meeting, Ozpin was the one to speak.

"Once everything is order, you all will need to be prepared to move onto your own parts of the job." Ozpin said all too coolly. "As James and I already established, there will be contact between all of us by radio." They paused, taking a sip from a mug of coffee and letting themself glance over at James over the corner of their eye.

"What this will mean," Ozpin said, gluing their eyes onto the others now. "Is that it will be up to you all to take getaway cars and get as far away from the scene as possible. You can't be preparing for one scenario, so you must all be prepared to play it by ear."

Their eyes and James' met for a second and that was when James took over and stepped forward to draw the attention of the room once more.

"This is going to be a getaway that you will all be familiar with in method." James said as calmly as he could possibly manage. From where he was, Qrow was able to see the way that James' shoulders were stiffening and the way that the man was holding himself a little differently. He was nervous, he was probably afraid of what was going to happen now that it was out in the open.

"Those of you that were present for our last bank robbery will remember how it goes." Ozpin spoke up, almost like they were doing their best to draw the attention away and give James a chance to breathe. It was something that Qrow wasn't used to, it was something that he had never expected to see out of Ozpin. When the two of them had talked one on one, Qrow had never gotten such an obvious feeling of humanity out of them.

But now it was obvious how Ozpin was trying to dictate the meeting.

"You'll all be taking your separate cars and keeping out of the view of the police until they lose track of our heist." Ozpin said all too calmly. "Once you've ensured your personal safety and the safety of what you are carrying, then you will meet the rest of the group at an established safe zone."

Silence lingered before Ozpin went any further and said anything else. It was a good thing, in its own way.

"And what happens if something happens?" Roman spoke up, leaning in and gluing his eyes onto James like he thought that was going to be the best way that he was going to be able to get whatever it was that he needed out of James. Of course, Qrow figured that this was an attempt to get through to James. Maybe it was Roman wanting to hear it from James that things were going to be fine.

"If something goes wrong-" James spoke up, taking a step forward to the front of the room. Ozpin looked like they'd been getting ready to answer, and their expression even read as being shocked at James' initiative. James reached up, carefully adjusting his collar with his right hand, almost like he was making an attempt to fix a tie that wasn't even there. "Then you are all to continue forward with the objective."

Silence settled over the room, the gravity of what had happened now lost on anyone that was there. It was shocking, it was unsettling. Qrow didn't know what he could do to make himself feel better about the situation at hand.

The room was being told by the one that had almost died, that if one of them ended up in a situation where lives were at stake, they were to ignore it.

That was worrying. That was something that they were never going to be able to get past.

And so Qrow couldn't find a way to deal with the situation at hand.

There was too much pain being brought to the surface that they were all going to need to find some way to reconcile.

James let out a too heavy sigh. His shoulders dipped for just a moment, and then he picked his head up a moment later as he rubbed at his right shoulder idly. There was a slight grimace on his features, and then James spoke up once more a moment later. He was too calm for the situation, even with everything that had happened to him in mind.

"I know that this isn't what you want to hear," James explained to the room quietly. "But this is a high stakes job. Turning back to help others has just as much of a possibility to ruin things as keeping going."

"But then we should-"

"No." James cut off Roman, who had actually gotten up a little bit in an attempt to show his frustration to all of the others. "You all need to make any effort that you can to get the money to the safehouse." He paused. "If the police are given any sign that there is something wrong, you need to keep it in mind that you will find your way to prison."

James paused, letting the reality of what he'd just said settle in for the others to think about. "I know that it isn't ideal." James rolled his shoulder slightly. "Trust me, I know better than anyone that it's not idea." James said quietly. "But you all need to stay out of jail. You have lives, and they shouldn't be defined by what you do here."

"But..." Roman spoke up. "What if-"

"Then you keep going." James repeated. "I'm sorry."

Oh, how Qrow hated the silence that settled over the room with James' words. He hated how the entire group was staring at James, and the way that he could see James' hands beginning to tremble in the split seconds before James settled back into parade rest.

All a ruse.

All an attempt to keep the others from realization just how bad James' nerves were getting to be.

Oh, how Qrow hoped to see it all work in the end.

James didn't waver though. All of that momentary weakness that Qrow had been absolutely certain that he'd seen faded away and James stood tall once more, always the strong one in the group.

"Now that that's handled," James said clearly and with his head held high as he moved forward to do nothing other than just change the subject. "As we mentioned, you'll be meeting at an established safe zone. Once everyone has convened and getaway vehicles have been destroyed, the money will be divided."

"And after that-" Ozpin piped up, pulling all of the attention back away from James once more. "You'll be sent on your way home. I'm hoping to have one more meeting afterwards for any bonuses to be handed out but-" Their eyes settled on James and a small smile began to crease their expression. "I should also note that we may be treating that meeting as a retirement party, won't we?"

"Yes." James said with a slight, unmistakable grimace.

There was a long hesitation, and James and Ozpin spent the entire time just staring at each other in some sort of silent conversation that nobody else was going to be allowed to be privy to. James nodded slowly and the two separated before James spoke up and actually smiled a little bit.

"That's everything that you all needed to know." James said calmly. "So why don't we move on to codenames and homework?"

The entire room seemed to perk up at that, and James nodded slowly before turning to the materials that he'd pulled aside for the meeting. He rifled through a few folders until he found one and opened it calmly, removing just a slip of paper.

"I'm only reading this off once, so you all better be paying attention." James said calmly before beginning to read the list out loud to anyone that wanted to hear it.

His eyes flicked over the others as he tried to find the best place to start. When James chose, it was with the point of two fingers in Junior's direction. "Junior, Grizzly." James moved on, person by person, giving names with every gesture.

"Glynda, witch. Winter, maiden. Qrow-" James smiled over at him. "Think you'd mind being scarecrow again?"

"I don't mind scarecrow." Qrow answered with a shrug. "It's a good name."

"Good." James mumbled before turning to Roman. "Firecracker work for you?"

Roman was about to open his mouth to answer, but Qrow decided to speak up and stop things before they went any further. He didn't like the feeling that was beginning to build down in his stomach that told him that he needed to stop that name. He figured that James had chosen it because of how Roman tended to be, but still.

"Firecracker doesn't work for me." Qrow spoke up, blinking and leaning in slightly. "It's what I call my niece."

James and Roman exchanged a look for just a moment as they tried to figure out what they wanted to do or how to keep going. They seemed to mumble something to each other, and Qrow saw the way that James' jaw was tensed. It lasted for a moment before James spoke once more.

"Roman will be candlewick in that case." James said plainly enough before looking to Ozpin. "Ozpin will be the Wizard, and I will…"

"Retain the mantle of General?" Ozpin teased, and James didn't say or do anything to protest against it.

"Yes." James finished a moment later. "That's it for codenames, if you have any questions, feel free to come ahead and ask me about them and I'll be able to help you as much as is needed." With a too clean motion, James once again folded away the sheet of paper with all of their codenames on it and stored it away in his pocket. "Aside from those, you'll have homework."

There was a collective groan that echoed through the room, and Qrow wished that he could have been surprised by the fact that James had been smirking over that sort of reaction. He took his time though, letting it linger and letting the others take their time before James finally explained what they needed to do.

As it turned out, it was simple stuff. All that James wanted was to have them all go out in groups so that they could go ahead and do reconnaissance. It would be done in pairs, and Qrow wished that he could have been surprised by the fact that he and James had been assigned together.

After that, James decided to treat the group to dinner before sending them all off on their ways.

As for Qrow, he stayed by James and crawled into the other man's bed that night to offer whatever comfort he could.

James didn't do anything to protest against it.


	74. Blind Panic

The night would pass and morning would come in quiet. James and Qrow didn't say much of anything to each other, because neither of them wanted to address the events of the night before. The meeting had been hard on everyone, and they were both more than well aware of that fact.

But still, awkwardness would linger.

In the end, it was James that would break the quiet with the suggestion that he and Qrow go out on the road and start taking a look at the area that they needed to be in for work. Qrow had accepted easily enough, and that was how James had ended up standing in line at the bank with Qrow chattering at his side about something mundane.

It wasn't that James didn't care about what Qrow was saying- that was the complete opposite of the reality of the situation. The fact of the matter was that James was just trying to focus and take count of everything in that bank lobby that had the possibility of ruining them should they have to use the front.

James didn't think it would go that way, but if things fell through they would need to be able to know what they'd be up against.

There were cameras everywhere, so they were naturally going to have to be thinking about that to some degree. Of course, the backdoor was probably going to be a bit easier on them to use, but James still couldn't help the worry that built up down in his chest over it. It was also going to be under heavy camera surveillance.

When he and Qrow left the bank, the two of them walked around the back of the building. James had decided to park in a strategic position in the parking lot for the building on the other side of the bank. It was smart, and James spent the entire time as they walked watching the walls for any glint of a camera lens of any sort.

Neither of them said anything until they were in the car properly and sitting down.

"So," Qrow piped up through an almost cocky grin as he slid in behind the wheel. "What do you think?"

"What I think is that we're going to have a hell of a time getting this done." James said as calmly as possible. "The fact that we aren't able to go inside and see the building properly is a major problem." He let out a quiet sigh. "I don't like how much of this we're going to have to play by ear."

"Neither do I." Qrow answered with a frown. "Should we take a drive out to the safe house to make sure that we know how the roads look?"

James let out a quiet sigh, thinking hard on whether or not he had a proper answer for Qrow. After a moment he finally came up with something to say to the other man.

"It wouldn't hurt for us to go and do that." James said calmly. "I don't think that we're going to be on these exact routes when we work, but we need to know all of the ways in and out of the safehouse."

"Got it." Qrow said as he pulled the two of them onto the main road and began on the way out of the way. He took a deep breath and seemed to relax back into his seat, and James was glad to know that Qrow seemed relaxed enough. "You feel confident that the others are doing their homework?"

"I trust them." James answered. "The only one that I don't trust is Ozpin, but they're going to be the one handling cameras, should things go right."

"And yet you still feel the need to check every corner for the damn things." Qrow chuckled quietly. James' only response was to shoot Qrow a look that said everything that James needed to say to Qrow. "I get it, you don't trust them."

"I don't think any of us do," James replied with a too quiet sigh. "It's too hard is all. Especially when they've broken into my house."

"I get it." Qrow said quietly as he turned on a straight road.

James could have sworn that he'd felt his heart beginning to freeze over in his chest as he looked over this road. Normally he didn't go down it by this direction, but this time around, it was different. It was dragging up all sorts of memories that James didn't want to have. His breathing changed, his hands tensed in his hands.

James knew this road, all too well.

"Pull over." James mumbled quietly.

Qrow raised an eyebrow and looked over at him with pure surprise reading across his face. A moment later, he was pulling off of the road and parking in the breakdown lane.

James folded in on himself all at once. He closed his eyes and covered the sides of his head with his hands as he curled himself in. He felt like he needed to hide, he needed to be able to _breathe_.

The last thing that he remembered from the last time that he'd been on this road had been the sound of a gunshot going off.

And then fire.

"Jim?" Qrow asked, leaning in towards James and picking his hands up so that he could place them on James' shoulders. "Talk to me, what's-"

"Fire." James whispered on a voice that had gone far too rough and ragged. "The-"

Qrow blinked, seeming deeply confused. He picked his head up and looked around the area in search of anything that could tell him what he was worrying about. James couldn't even bring himself to think about whatever had to be going through Qrow's head in that moment. He had to be confused.

"Fire?" Qrow asked quietly. "James, what's-" He went silent and Qrow's eyes widened with the realization of what was going on and what was going so wrong. "James?"

"Fire." James whispered again. He managed to wrench one of his own hands back under the control of his own body and reached over to rub at his own shoulder in an attempt to calm himself down. When he rubbed at his right shoulder where his body met the prosthetics, it was too hard and too intense. It wasn't enough to kill the sensory memory that creeped over his entire body and engulfed him in flames.

Qrow reached over and placed one of his hands on the center of James' back in an attempt to calm James down. "James, breathe." Qrow said, but the words felt so distant that James couldn't quite connect himself to what the other man was saying. In a way, he couldn't quite figure out where he was supposed to be. "Breathe, Jim."

Qrow guided his hand up and down James' back, and James could only assume in his scattered mind that Qrow was doing his best to time it with his own breathing. He was trying to get James to match with his hand, and James had to concentrate with everything in his body to cling onto that.

"Qrow-" James choked the other man's name out from behind cracked lips.

"I've got you." Qrow whispered quietly. "You're safe."

"Not-"

"Shhh." Qrow shushed James, and James couldn't bring himself to say anything else to the other man. "It's okay. I've got you, there's nothing happening."

"But-"

"It's okay." Qrow said again. He didn't dare move his hand away from James' body, but he did try to start the car back up again so that he could get James out of this place. The feeling of the car beginning to move under James' body was disorienting, and James couldn't bring himself to relax enough to get past this.

In the end, the two of them ended up parked at one of the riverside parks. James didn't move from the seat of his car, but Qrow was there the entire time offering comfort and trying to help him feel a little more human.

James choked on every word that he tried to get out, and it felt like his mind had turned to ice as he tried to speak.

But James was lucky, because Qrow did know him and knew how to deal with him fairly well. He had to fight to be able to focus on Qrow. He had to focus on Qrow's hands and how they moved, and the sound of Qrow's voice, and then on top of that he had to be able to focus on his own breathing.

Eventually, James began to slowly fade back into reality. When he managed to, Qrow was just sitting there with his eyes all soft and gentle, and looking deeply concerned.

James blinked, feeling hot tears formed in his eyes but unable to think about where they'd come from. Had he cried? Somehow he wasn't sure, or he wasn't able to put together that piece of the puzzle.

"Hey," Qrow whispered quietly, still moving his hand up and down on James' back. "You in there?"

James didn't answer verbally. He didn't think that he had it in him to do so, but he could nod slowly and hope that it was going to be enough to get Qrow off his back,

"Talk to me?" Qrow asked finally, having taken the hint that James hadn't been able to talk. "You don't have to if you don't want to." There was a momentary pause and then Qrow spoke up again. "If you don't feel like you can, that's okay."

James nodded. He reached up for Qrow's hand with his own, and Qrow was quick to get the message. He laced his fingers in with James and went back to repetitive motions as a way to get James back to reality and help to further ground James. It worked well enough, and eventually James felt like he was actually able to breathe again.

"Thank you." James forced the words out as a sound barely above a whisper after a while of sitting there with Qrow, hoping that he'd be able to start feeling a little better. If he could talk to Qrow and use that to concentrate on, then things could theoretically get better.

"Hey, there you are." Qrow said with a too-gentle smile. "Want to talk about it?"

James blinked and raised the back of his still-gloved right hand to wipe the hot tears away from his eyes in hopes that it would make him feel better. It didn't. "Later?" James mumbled, hoping that Qrow would allow it and would just give him the space that he needed to be able to get by.

"Alright." Qrow said finally. "Want to go home, or do you want to keep driving?"

That was a question that James didn't think that he was going to be able to actually answer when everything was brought into perspective. The rush of feeling that he'd just been slammed by had come so suddenly that James didn't know how he was actually supposed to be reacting to it. If there had been any way for him to keep his head straight, then James would have.

But that panic that had wrapped itself around James had come too suddenly, and so aggressively that James didn't think that it would have been possible for him to avoid it or work through it without Qrow's aid.

"I don't know." He managed to mumble finally. "I-"

"If you're apologizing for something, don't." Qrow said as calmly as he possibly could. "I know that's not what you want to hear, but don't. You couldn't have predicted that."

James nodded slowly and he wanted to do nothing more than to curl into bed and sleep forever. But that was too scary to think about- it was entirely too likely that he would end up with those horrors dancing behind his eyes if he made an attempt to rest at any point.

"We should try." James said in a whisper. "I don't know how much good I'll be, but we need to-"

"Jim, if you don't think that you can do this, don't force it." Qrow said as reassuringly as he possibly could. "I'm not judging you for it. Things happen, it's whatever." His volumed dropped and his tone changed all at once, all of the softness of Qrow coming out at once. "Don't force it."

"I'm not trying to force it." James answered, though he knew that the argument came off as a weak one. He knew that Qrow could see through everything that he said. The only thing was that Qrow was too nice to call him out for it.

"I don't care." Qrow muttered, sounding slightly frustrated, despite the sweetness of his tone. "I just care that you are actually doing something to try and take care of yourself."

James squeezed his eyes shut, feeling like he'd just come across something that he was never going to be able to get past or deal with properly. He didn't know how many times he'd heard things like that, in or out of therapy. He didn't know how many times people had gone ahead and told him that he needed to take care of himself over everything else.

Somehow, he didn't think that he was ever going to stop being frustrated with it.

He let out a ragged sigh that was more than enough to betray everything that was going through James' mind emotionally in that moment. If exhaustion could be a sound, he was sure that it would have been the sound of that sigh. Finally, he spoke up, keeping his volume down for no reason other than the fact that James was sure that he wasn't going to be able to relax otherwise. James needed some sort of quiet if he was going to be able to get past this.

When he made his request, it was the only thing that he could have ever imagined asking in that moment. "Can we just go back to the house and..."

"Yeah." Qrow said, not bothering to let James finished. James figured that was just because the guy understood what he needed. The fact that the two of them weren't going to be getting things done didn't matter- they needed to rest. James needed to rest.

The worst part of it all was that James could feel a thought beginning to creep in on the outer edges of his mind to tell him that he was doing something wrong. He closed his eyes and sighed quietly. He couldn't make himself feel like he hadn't fallen into a situation where Qrow was sticking by him out of some sort of feeling of obligation.

But the two of them drove across the city, avoiding that road where James had been driven into a panic as they made their way back towards James' neighborhood. When they arrived there at the house, James was the first to get out of the car and he made an almost immediate beeline for his own bedroom. When Qrow followed along, it was at his own speed and all too calmly.

James had decided to lie down in bed when Qrow finally made it into the bedroom. He took his time and let himself slip out of his socks before sliding up into the space alongside James.

Instead of saying anything, James tentatively opened his arms to give Qrow the chance to curl in against him if he wanted to. Surprisingly, Qrow took it and crawled in next to James. Somehow- James wasn't entirely sure how, Qrow had managed to change the nature of the way that the two of them were lying together.

It was enough to ensure that James was laying there with Qrow, resting his head against the thinner man's chest and letting Qrow take his time to card his fingers through his own hair. Neither of them spoke for a while, and when James finally did, his voice was still hoarse and aching from earlier on.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, closing his eyes and angling his head so that he could be a little more assured by the possibility that Qrow couldn't see his expressions as the two of them laid there. Despite everything, despite the closeness of how the two of them were, James needed any layer of separation that he could get out of the situation. That was all that James needed.

"Don't be." Qrow replied, not pausing to stop in his motions. "It happens, Jim." His fingers paused in James' hair, and James could have sworn that he'd felt something crawling under his skin that was more than enough to make him feel like he was freezing up while he laid there. Like spiders up his spine.

"It's not okay." James said quietly. "It's not, I'm supposed to-"

James let out a far too ragged breath in response, and squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to fold himself in against Qrow a little closer. It wasn't going to be enough, James was sure of that, but he still felt that urge there to try. He needed the closeness.

And deep down, James knew that there were other reasons that he was clinging onto Qrow's body as he was now. The fact that it had been a long time since he'd been held or cared for properly was something that danced in the back of James' mind. The fact that he did miss having someone to be close and to warm his bed was something that James was aware of.

But that was the weird thing, James knew.

No matter what, Qrow was the first person that he'd been with for some time. Qrow was the one holding him close and crawling into bed with him come nighttime. This had happened a few times now, and James was never able to shake exactly how intimate it all felt.

He let his eyes slip shut, partially because he wanted to enjoy the comfort of Qrow's warmth and his body there, but also partially because he could feel hot tears beginning to well up in his eyes.

James didn't dare cry. He couldn't let himself do that- not in front of Qrow. Not in front of anyone.

Qrow set a careful hand down on James' shoulder, and almost jolted away under the contact. He knew that it had been enough to make him tense up and make his nervousness begin to show, but Qrow said nothing. Oh, how James treasured Qrow's silence at a time like this .It was all that he wanted- it was all that he could ever want.

"You don't have to be made of stone, Jimmy." Qrow whispered as James settled in against his chest once more. He used both of his hands to run his touch over James' shoulders and into his hair. For a second, James had been sure that he'd been able to feel Qrow tracing a finger over the scarring that crept up the back of his neck.

It was enough to make James' breath hitch, but the feeling was soon replaced by the careful running of Qrow's fingers back into James' hair. Qrow used just enough pressure that it became pleasurable in a way.

"I know." James said quietly. "I'm just not-"

"Not used to it?"

James didn't answer verbally. He just let his eyes open once more and nodded, still resting his cheek against Qrow's chest. Qrow let out a quiet laugh, low and warm in his chest, and James couldn't help but think that it sounded perfect.

"Yeah," He said finally. "I'm supposed to lead them, Qrow-" James turned slightly, just so that he'd be able to look up into Qrow's eyes while the two of them talked, even if it was just going to be for a little while. Time didn't matter to James that much- all that he wanted was to know was that Qrow was both listening and that he _understood._

James would have given just about anything to have that from more people than just Qrow, but for now, Qrow was all that he had.

James swallowed hard, almost choking on his words before he forced them out and let himself go a little further in what he ways saying. "If I can't be solid and clear headed on the day that we go to work, then I risk dooming us all."

There was no answer from Qrow. The physical contact that had been built up between the two of them never wavered and it never broke. Qrow seemed to be thinking hard of it, even now as he glanced down to the space between the two of them instead of at James' face. It left an uncomfortable churning feeling in the pit of James' stomach that was almost enough to make him feel like he was going to be sick.

Did Qrow know what he was doing to James, or was he just trying to avoid things?

The thought that Qrow could be attempting to avoid him was enough to inspire some small panic in James.

"You think it's going to be that bad?" Qrow finally said, after what had felt like an eternity of silence that hadn't been capable of breaking. "Or are you just caught in your own head?"

"That's the thing-" James said, sucking in a deep breath in a weak attempt to calm himself as he laid there in his bed with Qrow there pressed up against him. "I don't know. I don't know how bad this one's going to be because-"

"Because you almost died?" Qrow asked, his voice barely above a whisper and even _cracking_ for a moment for reason that James wasn't quite able to identify. Maybe Qrow was beginning to feel the pressure over the job himself, even if it wasn't in the same way that James was feeling it. "James you know that it was-"

"A freak accident." James cut Qrow off before he could finish. "I know that. I've heard that from so many people at so many different times that it's hard not to think of it that way." He squeezed his eyes shut, and James let himself begin to wrap himself up around Qrow's body. Qrow understood and shifted so that James could wind his arms around him properly and let James pull himself in closer. "I just can't stop being _afraid_ of it. I'm scared out of my mind and I..." He gestured vaguely, still unable to find the words. "I can't stop."

Qrow was quiet, and when he finally did, it was with his voice so hushed and his voice so gentle that it was enough to send a shiver racing up James' skin as he laid there.

"Nobody expect you to stop being scared, Jim." Qrow said quietly. "You went through hell and even if-" He cut himself off, and Qrow swallowed hard. "And even if you can't tell people how bad it is, nobody's judging you for still being afraid after what you've been through."

James swallowed. "You mean that?"

"Of course."

James squeezed his eyes shut, not quite sure about how he wanted to handle things between himself and Qrow from then on out. He pushed himself upright and off of Qrow's body before settling into the space beside the other man. Almost like it wasn't even James' own bed, but there were things that he didn't say for the others to hear.

"You good?" Qrow asked, tilting his head slightly and leaning in towards James just slightly. Like he was trying to make some sort of eye contact, and James did allow for that to form between the two of them.

He knew that when he nodded it probably didn't look all that convincing, but Qrow still smiled sweetly at him and leaned in to press a slow, too-soft kiss to James' lips.

It was nice.

That was all that James could think, it was nice. It was safe. It was Qrow.

Oh, how he didn't want to lose Qrow.

"Yeah." James finally whispered into the space that had formed between himself and Qrow when Qrow had decided to pull away from James. "I'm good."

Qrow nodded and relaxed back against the headboard of the bed. "Do you want to try and go out and do more recon tomorrow?" He asked, bringing the conversation away from comfort, and James was glad for it. It meant that he didn't have to keep thinking about how bad he felt. That was about all that James could have hoped for, he realized.

"Yeah," James said quietly, closing his eyes and tilting his head back to rest against the headboard as well. "I'll have to check in with Roman and Junior to see how they're doing-"

"Right." Qrow said, grimacing. "And what about the girls?"

James' eyes opened and he looked back over at Qrow. "I'll talk to them." He said finally. "I would rather not have to bother Winter and Glynda too much, since Glynda's more than capable..." James shook his head. "I can just trust that those two will report to me directly with whatever is going on with them, is all."

Qrow nodded slowly and tried not to get mixed back up in those feelings of jealousy that always threatened to swim to the surface when it came to Glynda. There were things that he wanted to ask, things that he wanted to say.

Maybe it would be best to clear the air between him and James with regards to what was between James and Glynda. He was sure that he knew what would happen- James would brush it off as being nothing.

But still, Qrow wanted to ask the question and try to find out.

He had to practically brace himself to ask it, but Qrow did decide to breach that gap.

It only came after a deep inhale that did little to calm his nerves.

"Jim?"

James' head snapped up and he stared over at Qrow. There was something about the way that the other man was holding himself that James couldn't help but worry about it, and so James' first reaction was to raise an eyebrow.

"What is it?" James asked, keeping his voice down and reaching over to set his hand down on Qrow's in the small space that was between their hips where they sat.

Qrow blinked, his expression settling into a more worried one. James' only way that he could think to react was to gently brush his thumb over Qrow's knuckles. "I uh..." Qrow shook his head, licking his lips nervously. "I wanted to know whether there's something between you and Glyn..."

"Glynda?" James finished for Qrow, blinking and trying hard to hide any hurt that appeared on his face as the two of them sat there.

"I know it's a bad time."

"To answer your question, no." James began, letting out a quiet sigh as he thought back to how things had been in the past. "We dated for a little while a couple of years ago, but no, there's nothing there."

Qrow smiled softly and actually turned to face James, and all that James could think was that it was deeply concerning that he was doing that. "You mean that?"

"Of course." James said with a blink. "Though I'm a little bit confused about why you want to know about me and Glynda's relationship?"

Qrow sighed and shifted uncomfortably. James felt some new anxieties beginning to well up in his chest, but he didn't dare let Qrow know how bad they were. Not when Qrow had already spent the better part of an hour or two trying to comfort James.

Not now.

"It's just...' Qrow shook his head. "Something that happened at the banquet job got me feeling kind of jealous towards her." He shrugged.

"I guess we're just good actors." James said, keeping his voice down. "I can ensure you that there's nothing there, Qrow."

"Why'd you and her break up, then?" Qrow asked, his eyes narrowing and his gaze snapping over to James.

Oh, how that left James worrying more and more with every moment that the two of them were there.

"It was a bad relationship," James explained calmly. "Not that it was abusive or anything, but some people are just... bad for each other." James shrugged and relaxed back against the headboard a little bit more. He was sure that so far he had done absolutely nothing to assuage Qrow's fears, but he didn't want to let Qrow know how aware he was of that fact.

Or maybe he should have- maybe the fact that James wasn't doing anything to shut those thoughts down for real wasn't enough.

"What do you mean by that?" Qrow asked.

"We just didn't work well together." James said. "Both too independent, different priorities and all of that. I had Penny to worry about and she..." James shrugged. "It just didn't work out."

Qrow nodded slowly, and James couldn't help but think that Qrow didn't seem convinced at all. "You better not be lying to me," Qrow grumbled as he knotted his hands in the sheets on James' bed. "Because if you are-"

"I'm not lying." James said as calmly as he could manage. "Really Qrow, there's nothing there. We just know when to put things aside for work."

The three word phrase rose back up again and danced on James' tongue, begging him to say it.

James couldn't bring himself to.


	75. Reliance

For only the second time since he and James had first started working together and spending time together, Qrow was the one that got up first in the morning. This time when he crept downstairs so that he could put something together for the two of them to have for breakfast, there was nobody there, and to Qrow it was a sigh of relief of sorts. Having Ozpin around after what had happened with James would have only caused for people to get hurt.

Qrow was more than sure of that.

The night before had been difficult for a large multitude of reasons, none of which Qrow wanted to dwell on for any longer than he had to. James had had a rather severe anxiety attack, and he'd done his best to put the man back together as best as he could.

And now, they were supposed to be going out and making the same sort of work happen that day that they had been meaning to achieve the day before. No matter how much Qrow thought about the absolutely terrible consequences that could arise, he couldn't quell the nervousness that built up in his chest so easily at the thought.

He'd had plenty of time to think about James' words the night before. Hell, he'd even made the decision to stay up later than James because he'd needed time to think and because he felt more comfortable if he made sure that he could be there in case James woke from some sort of nightmare.

That hadn't happened, and Qrow had eventually managed to sleep, although the rest he got was uneasy and full of tossing and turning.

He was sure that in the process of trying to get himself comfortable he'd only served to wake James a few times, but if that was true James had certainly never gone ahead and said anything about the topic.

It was what it was, and Qrow wanted to make up for it.

Because of that, he was now filling James' coffee maker with that hazelnut coffee that he knew that James liked so much. He would go up in a little while to see whether James was up or if he needed anything, and oh, how Qrow hated how utterly domestic he was sounding.

He and James weren't even dating, and yet here he was, up early in the morning and making James coffee like he was some sort of housewife.

Deep down, Qrow figured that there was some part of him that did actually want that for himself to some degree, but he didn't dare allow himself acknowledge it.

The reality was that this was going to end up being a short term relationship whether they liked it or not.

There was too much riding on this job for it not to be.

Qrow figured that he needed to be thinking about the job himself, and mostly about what would come afterwards. He still had to hide what he did for work from Summer and Taiyang, not to mention the girls. They still thought that he was bartending at Juniors, and that he was doing well there. They thought that he might have been thinking about moving to stay in Atlas for good.

His heart beat a little too hard against his chest at that thought because Qrow realized very quickly that it was possible that there was another reason that people thought he was moving to Atlas.

And that reason was upstairs, still asleep in a bed that the two of them had shared the night before. Qrow had never realized just how bad this situation was.

He grit his teeth and clenched his fists, though it did nothing to make himself feel any better. He walked over to the fridge and opened it, peering inside to see what there was that he could make into a serviceable breakfast. He saw a carton of eggs and went for that, figuring that it was the least that he could do.

Besides, James seemed like the kind of guy that would enjoy eggs and toast first thing in the morning. He'd probably call it a filling meal that's efficient to make and eat or something.

Of course, Qrow wasn't entirely confident that would be James' reaction, but it was still fun to think about.

He set to making breakfast and leaned against a counter, letting his eyes slip shut for the little while that he had to himself while the skillet heated. He only reopened them when he heard the characteristic creak of James' steps and the uneven gait of his friend.

Or whatever it was that he and James were to each other.

The more and more that Qrow thought about it, the harder it became for him to figure out how he and James fit together.

James looked exhausted, was the first thing that Qrow thought to himself when the man stepped into the kitchen looking a little more than worse for the wear.

Guilt clutched at Qrow for the night before, but he pushed it back. It wasn't going to be worth commenting on.

"Morning." Qrow greeted James, looking over at the coffee maker. "Nothing's ready yet."

"Morning." James answered him, his voice a little too hoarse as he dropped into one of the seats a little too stiffly. Qrow grimaced and turned, reaching for the medicine cabinet and removing the bottles there before sliding them over to James. James raised an eyebrow and shot him a look, but Qrow didn't say anything.

No use in alienating James.

James swallowed his pills dry, and while that happened Qrow turned so that he could check on the cooking food once more. It was a nice environment that had built between himself and James, and he wouldn't have traded it for the world.

"So," James said quietly once he was ready to speak. "What are you making anyways?"

"Eggs and toast." Qrow answered with a slight shrug as he glanced back at James over his shoulder. "I figured you wouldn't find that to be the absolute worst thing in the world for breakfast?"

James nodded slowly and leaned forward against the counter, bracing himself so that he didn't make himself any more uncomfortable than he needed to be. "It'll be good," James said quietly. "Thank you, Qrow."

"It's no problem." Qrow said with a shrug as he heard the coffee maker beep to tell him that it was ready. "Coffee?"

"Please."

Qrow smiled softly at James' response. It was so simple, and yet somehow he was thinking about how he wanted to be able to hear that word given for that same question for the rest of his life. He didn't let it all show that much though, as he slid away from the counter and over to the coffee maker where he needed to take a minute to prepare two mugs. As always, the first mug was simple- black coffee for James, and the second was his own, which he was sure to load with as much cream and sugar as he needed.

In fact, he was pretty sure that the only reason James even owned creamer was because of him. Not that he'd let James know that he'd figured that out.

Carefully, he slid James the man's cup of coffee and earned a quiet thanks as James brought the mug up to his lips and began to drink. Qrow let the silence linger between the two of them for as long as was needed before he finally spoke up and drew James' attentions back over to him.

"So we're going out today, right?" Qrow asked, leaning against the counter with his hip as he poked at the eggs with a spatula. "Anything special we need to prepare for?"

"Nothing comes to mind immediately." James said, sighing and setting his mug of coffee down on the counter in front of him. For the first time, Qrow recognized that it looked like James hadn't managed to sleep all that well and it was showing physically. The bags under the man's eyes said everything. Again, that guilt swam up and bit at him.

Qrow didn't let it show.

"Right." Qrow said with a slight shrug. "I was thinking that it wouldn't hurt that much if we started at the safehouse and worked our way back to the bank without being too noticeable about it." He almost bit at his lower lip, feeling distinctly unsure about what sort of reaction he was going to end up getting from James. It was possible that James would go ahead and agree that it was a good way to go about things, but there was also a part of Qrow that expected for James to turn him down.

Although, he didn't really know why he was thinking of it in that way.

"That sounds fine." James said as he leaned back into his seat and made himself more comfortable. "I'll be able to call everyone that we need to talk to before we go and do that." James closed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. Qrow couldn't help but wonder whether or not James was trying to figure something out for the day ahead. Of course, there had to be more work that James needed to get done for the group that Qrow hadn't been let in on yet.

But James' expression twisted into a grimace as he opened his eyes and leaned in towards the counter. "Ideally I'd be able to contact Ozpin..."

"Ozpin?" Qrow asked, raising an eyebrow as he finally took the time to transfer the cooked eggs to a plate which he quickly slid over to James. "Any reason you're worried about them?"

"Naturally." James answered quietly. "I have bags of supplies ready for the mission, and if I can get a confirmation that vehicles are already at the safehouse for the job, then I can bring them along and we can start moving things into their final positions."

Qrow blinked, a little bit unsure of what to make of James' words. It sounded like this was going to be relatively run of the mill, when all things were brought into consideration about things had gone before. At the very least, it was interesting getting to see what this all looked like from the planning side and not just the side of things where he waited for orders to come whenever they came.

Had Junior gone through this sort of thing because he was attached to Roman? Or to James, back when the two of them were apparently 'partners,' for that matter?

Qrow didn't really know, and yet he found himself wondering about it anyways and feeling more than unsure about how he wanted to read the situation.

"So this really is happening, huh?"

"It is." James said quietly. "I'll have Penny next weekend so we'll have to wait a little bit longer before we get to work, but..."

"But?"

"Well," James straightened up and picked up a fork so that he could poke at his eggs. "All the time that we can possibly get to plan things is valuable, I'm sure you realize." He smiled softly and glanced from the eggs and then up at Qrow. "Everyone's worried about this job on at least some level, I think. A lot of that has to do with me but.."

Qrow paused and cracked another egg into the skillet next to him so that he could finally go ahead and make something for himself to eat. "Jim, can I ask you something?" Qrow looked back at James over his shoulder, seeking for something there that he wasn't able to find on his own. He needed James for this.

"What is it?"

Qrow let out a low sigh. "I wanted to know how much time you guys had to make plans for the last time that you did this sort of thing." He looked back over his shoulder to see that James was sitting upright now, with his shoulders squared and his expression looking even concerned. Qrow didn't think that this was too taboo of a topic to bring up, but he still needed to do something to try and quell some of his worries. "Was it rushed or-"

"We had about the same amount of time." James answered, keeping his voice as level as he possibly could as he sat there and stared back down at his food. "Of course, things were a little bit different then, contact with Ozpin was hard so we didn't have any ways that we could do things internally without constantly worrying about the cameras."

Qrow blinked, curious. "So you're telling me that the last time you did this sort of thing, you had to brute force it?"

"I wouldn't use those words necessarily," James explained, "But yes, that's a way to explain it."

That almost was enough to make Qrow feel better about the situation at hand, if only because it meant that this was potentially going to be a cleaner job than the one that had come before it.

A mixed blessing, if anything.

Qrow's brow furrowed, and the man sank back into his seat like he thought that he would find some way to relax with everything in mind. Deep down, James almost felt bad about it, but the fact was that if they weren't going to be going through the job in the same way that they had the first time, then that was a good thing.

"I know it isn't ideal." James said, keeping his voice down for the most part. "But I do think that at least on some level, it's less doomed than the first attempt at this sort of thing was."

"Real encouraging, Jimmy." Qrow laughed with a shake of his head. "So you don't have to brute force it this time." He paused, his eyes dropping for a moment before he raised a question that James hdn't been hoping to hear. "So if you went through it with brute force last time and without someone there to keep track of the cameras, how did you do it anyways?"

James shrugged, and let out a quiet sigh because there was really no graceful way that he could go ahead and answer Qrow's question. "We'll just say that it's the way you see on tv the most. Masks, bags, waving guns in people's faces."

"And your clothes?" Qrow asked. "How the hell did you keep from getting caught?" He leaned in and turned so that he could get a more direct look into James' eyes. "Especially you?"

James blinked and found himself gripping his mug of coffee a little bit tighter as he thought back on how that job had gone so that he could come up with some sort of answer for Qrow. He let out a quiet sigh. "Clothing was arranged for and disposed of." James explained as calmly as he could manage. "Dressing in layers, getting rid of clothes by throwing them out at the first chance we got."

He shrugged, and leaned back into his own seat. His food was sitting there in front of them, and James wanted to go ahead and eat a little bit more, but didn't know that he wanted to anymore. There was a too intense churning in his stomach that made him not want to go any further with all of this.

"So..."

James shrugged. "I hadn't gotten a chance to get rid of it all, but my car going up in flames solved a lot of the problems." It was a bad explanation, but it was also the only explanation that James could actually give to Qrow. It was incomplete, and James was all too aware of the fact that he could have been offering his friend much better of an explanation to help him understand the situation that they were going to be facing all too soon. "When they pulled me out of the wreck, I guess there wasn't anything left for evidence."

There was that silence lingering between the two of them, and they were finally reaching the point where James knew that he wasn't going to have anything else that he could offer to Qrow as explanation for everything that had happened on that fateful day.

"Right." Qrow grumbled. He stared down into his own cup of coffee, and all that James could think was that there was something in his expression and in the furrowing in his brow that spoke to Qrow being angry to hear all of this. James couldn't really blame the man, when everything was brought into consideration about had had happened. The fact of the matter, for James, was that there was no such thing as avoiding everything that had happened.

It was impossible to ignore everything. It was impossible to pretend like nothing had happened.

"I don't think that's going to happen again, Qrow," James said quietly, hoping that he'd be able to offer the other man whatever small measure of comfort that he could with his own words. No matter what, James was sure that it wasn't ultimately going to end up being enough, but he had to say it anyways. "We'll be going into this job with more support than we had in the past, and we'll be going into this job knowing what we did wrong last time."

"If you're seriously relying-"

"I'm not." James said, cutting Qrow off before he could go any further. He decided now to poke at his eggs again for a little bit, if only because he needed to seem like he was actually making some sort of effort to get something into his body to eat. "I'm just saying that we've done this before, and we will have some ideas on how to do it better. Last time, it was a mess, but this time, we have better ideas. We have experience."

James swallowed hard, trying to find the words that he needed so desperately and only feeling terrible when nothing swam to the surface that he could actually say to Qrow to make the other man feel better about everything. "I know you don't believe me."

"It's hard." Qrow said, keeping his voice down and making a rather distinct point not to look at James, which James was all too quick to notice. "You're telling me that you aren't afraid, and that you have this experience to rely on for this job but-"

"But it's not an ideal situation, regardless." James explained with a quiet sigh. "Either way, we need to be on top of everything and we have to keep an eye on the job and what we have available to us as it all develops."

A pang shot through James' chest, and he actually raised a hand so that he could rub at that pain. It wouldn't be enough to fix it, since it was that sort of pain that went through someone when they were hurting or upset. The kind that made it hard for him to breathe all too easily.

"That's it?" Qrow asked, keeping his voice down. "We're just going to-"

"Qrow." James said, looking up into his friend's eyes and staring into the soft red for a long time. "You have to trust me on this. If we can't trust each other..." James' voice trailed off, and a number of memories flit through his mind about everything that had happened in the past. "If we can't trust each other about what's happening, then we're going to fail."

Qrow nodded slowly. He didn't seem convinced, and James genuinely wished that he could have been surprised by that fact, at least on some level. But James was willing to do his best to take all of this in stride and keep going with things.

The two of them ate their breakfast, and when they talked, it was always matters of figuring out exact routes that they wanted to go ahead and take on the way to the warehouse that day.

When he and Qrow decided that they wanted to climb into the car and actually make things start happening, James decided that he was going to drive. He did his absolute best to push back all of the frustration and worry that he'd been feeling that day, and he was somehow able to keep his head together through the time that they were driving.

Sure enough, they would find themselves at the warehouse.

James wished that he could have been surprised at all by the fact that Ozpin was there, pulling a black car into the warehouse and seemingly unaware of the fact that James and Qrow had even arrived.


	76. Dropping Bombs

The morning had been rough so far, and Qrow hadn't been able to find a way to help himself relax as he sat there in the passenger's seat of James' car. The talk over breakfast had done very little to make him feel great about the situation at hand. In fact, it had done nothing to calm him down.

The fact that they were going to be meeting with Ozpin at the warehouse didn't do anything for Qrow's mood either. In fact, it just made it a hell of a lot worse because now Qrow was expecting to be stuck cleaning up _something._ Not that he knew _what_ that might be. Or who, for that matter.

They looked up once they got out of the car that they'd just parked and raised an eyebrow in greeting. James took the first few steps forward to offer Ozpin his hand, and Ozpin took it gladly.

"James." They greeted him, before locking their gaze onto Qrow for a moment. "And Qrow. What a pleasant surprise."

"We figured it wouldn't hurt to keep on doing setup for the day." Qrow said as calmly as he could, even shrugging the entire way though his words. "Jimmy's been nervous."

James' eyes narrowed and he shot Qrow a look, and for a moment, Qrow couldn't help but wonder whether or not he'd accidentally crossed a line of some sort with James. Had he gone ahead and done something that he shouldn't have?

Qrow figured that Ozpin probably didn't know all that much about what the relationship between himself and James was like, and so he couldn't help but think that was a major part of James' worries.

"I see." Ozpin said, before Qrow or James could get a chance to get a word in edgewise. "Then I suppose that I should explain everything that's been prepared for the job?"

"It wouldn't hurt." James said calmly with a quiet sigh. "We have the supply bags ready in my office at the house, so I can go and get all of that sometime so that we can have that part of the job prepared."

"Very good." Ozpin said, taking a step or two back so that they could get a good look at the vehicles that had already been parked there in the garage. "The acquisitions that you required for this job are quite hefty, James."

"I expected as much." James said quietly, looking at the cars that were parked there. For the first time, Qrow let himself take a look for himself. The cars were nearly identical, and a quick glance at a table that was at the back of the warehouse was enough to tell Qrow that there was work being done to get the liscense plate situation in order.

Qrow was willing to bet that there was going to be a need for them to all switch up their plates with magnets again, not unlike the last two jobs.

Honestly, he was surprised that nobody had figured out that they were using magnetized plates to make sure that they didn't get caught.

Of course, they were careful about the cleanup.

"So," Qrow spoke up, his brow furrowing when he realized that there was one thing in particular that was missing that had been specifically requested for the job. "Any luck on the armored truck Jimmy asked about?"

Ozpin let out a quiet sigh and their expression shifted for what Qrow had to guess was the most extreme that he'd ever seen. They were always so calm, they were always so collected. Because of that, seeing anything akin to worry or frustration on Ozpin's features was enough to leave him worrying about what was coming forward.

If there was anyone that he would have thought wouldn't have been worrying about what was to come, Qrow would have figured that it was going to be either James, or Roman, or any of the others. Mostly James or Roman.

Somehow the possibility that _Ozpin_ could experience worry was almost earth shattering, and Qrow wasn't quite sure as to _why_.

Finally, Ozpin spoke up and decided to offer some sort of explanation for what was going on. "The armored courier truck has been a difficult thing to acquire for our purposes." Ozpin said all too calmly. "And finding a way to make a vehicle look like one that is legitimate would be too difficult. I am doing my best to fulfil the request, however."

Concern flashed over James' face now. He turned to face Ozpin now, and he crossed his arms over his chest as he looked back at the cars. "We will have one, won't we?"

"We should." Ozpin replied, and for Qrow that didn't do anything to make him feel better about the situation at hand. He needed to be able to relax through this, but this new revelation was making it all too difficult for him to get by. "But James-"

Qrow glanced over at his companion now.

"Yes?" James replied, almost calmly.

"If I'm not able to get the truck that you want for this job so badly, then you will have to be prepared to do this my way."

Qrow watched James, he saw the way that the man's jaw tensed and worked, and the furrow of James' brow. It was almost like James was doing his best to hide his emotions, but in this case, it wasn't working as well as James would have liked.

He himself didn't know how he was supposed to be reading into the situation. If that first attempt at a bank robbery had gone so poorly, then going by Ozpin's way, which it seemed was going to be mirroring the old way, then Qrow didn't know whether they were more or less doomed.

It seemed that it would be more dangerous, at the very least. There was definitely more room for threats to arise over the course of the whole ordeal. Everything that he'd heard from either James or Roman and Junior told him that there was so much more to worry about.

And Qrow as absolutely sure that on some level, James was just as aware of that fact as he was. Hell, James was probably even more aware of it than Qrow could have ever been. At the end of the day, Qrow was sure that he was the only one that was never going to have the full picture on how it had gone.

But James did eventually answer, and when it happened, Qrow just saw that James was staring ahead like he thought that there was something that would be able to help him out there. Qrow couldn't blame James for it, since everything that he'd gone through had been difficult. Mostly, he was sure that James was just looking to put as much distance between himself and the rest of them as possible. As though that were really possible.

"I understand that completely well." James said calmly, standing there military-rigid and his head up high. "Though I hope that you aren't doing anything to try and keep from getting the truck."

Qrow swallowed hard, and all that he could think about was the likelihood that James had said that knowing perfectly well that it was going to be placing himself and Ozpin at odds. He didn't know whether or not there could be anything that James was trying to get out of doing that.

In the end, he figured that Ozpin's reaction was all that James needed.

"Of course not." Ozpin responded, all too calmly and making sure that they had both James and Qrow's attention glued onto them. Qrow didn't allow himself to waver away from the situation, and James didn't seem to do anything to avoid it. He just turned, met Ozpin's eyes and stood there ready for anything. "I don't know where you are getting the insinuation that I wouldn't be doing my part to ensure our mutual success."

Qrow wished that he hadn't been expecting for Ozpin to give that sort of response to what James had said, but it was also fully expected on at least some level. Now that Qrow finally got a chance to see how Ozpin reacted, he knew exactly what James had been making an attempt at. This wasn't about the job, this was a trap that had been meant to weed out any dishonesty from Ozpin.

James grimaced, and Qrow couldn't help but wonder what was going on in the man's head as he stood there and scrubbed a gloved hand over his face. "I just need to know that we are on the same page with regards to this job, Ozpin." James reiterated before dropping his hand back down to his side and taking a few steps towards one of the cars. Tentatively, James rested his hand on it's hood and stared down into the shiny black paint where Qrow was sure James was able to see his own reflection. "Neither of us want to see-"

"I'm doing everything in my power to keep _that_ from happening, James." Ozpin said, all too calmly. "As of now, I'm doing what I can with what I've already managed to acquire for the group's use." They paused for a long moment, and Qrow couldn't help feeling like his skin was crawling when Ozpin's eyes settled on him. The weight of their gaze was nothing like anything that he had experienced before, and Qrow couldn't have done anything to pretend as though he was okay with that.

The stare only lingered on him for a moment though. Soon enough, Ozpin was refocusing themself on James and staring him down with full intentions. "I must ask, though-" Ozpin began turning and taking a few steps towards James. "What have you been doing in addition to preparing supplies for this mission, James?"

It took absolutely no time for James to understand what Ozpin was trying to insinuate. His eyes settled on Qrow for a second, and when Qrow got a good look at James' face, he saw the way that pure anger flashed over his expression for only a moment before the man decided to say anything on what he had been up to.

"I've been attempting to make contact with the various members of our group." James said as calmly as he could. "In addition to doing my own reconnaissance, I've been doing everything in my power to ensure that I have a good idea as to what is going on with the others as issues arise."

"But of course." Ozpin replied. "Though I can't wonder if you're distracted at all?"

"Hey-" For the first time, Qrow decided that he really wanted some piece of the conflict that was ever so constantly building up between Ozpin and James. "If you're trying to say that I'm a distraction just because I stay with him instead of driving an hour to get here every day-"

"I'm not, Qrow." Ozpin answered dismissively, pairing their words with a nonchalant wave of their hand. "But I need to know that there is actually work being done on your parts." They paused for a moment before allowing their empty hand to drop down to their side once more and relaxing slightly. "This is not an effort that is going to be able to be made by a few people alone. I'm sure that you've both grasped that."

"We have." Qrow responded as he allowed himself to shift just a little bit closer to James, though Qrow was sure that it wasn't nearly enough to notice. When it came to James and Ozpin, Qrow was at a point where he was just getting used to having to watch for every and all subtleties. It seemed like every time James and Ozpin had a conversation, they were actually having two more underneath that one. It was only a slightly frustrating thing for Qrow to put up with, and there were a lot of reasons for that.

As much as Qrow hated to admit it, he knew that James and Ozpin were only able to work the way that they did and do things in the way that they did because it _worked._ And even if that was going to be enough to make listening in on the two of them beyond frustrating, Qrow couldn't really object to it too much.

They had a system.

He just didn't quite know how to read the layers of conversation that James and Ozpin liked to use quite yet.

"I see." Ozpin said before hesitating and turning to the cars. "You know, getting these was a difficult task."

James crossed his arms over his chest and seemed to relax, if only slightly. He looked the various vehicles over, and Qrow did the same. He was sure that Ozpin was raising the topic for some reason, but he couldn't figure out what it was. Maybe it had to do with the fact that someone acquiring multiple cars at any given time was going to start looking suspicious from just about any angle.

"I believe you." James said, all too calmly. He patted a hand against the hood of one of the cars, almost affectionately before looking and turning to Ozpin. "You know, I've never asked where you get them all."

"Friends in low places, James." Ozpin replied with a slight smile of their own. "Of course, the fact that people don't come looking at owned property helps. The warehouse is under my ownership, and so there's never a reason for people to come snooping around."

James stared at Ozpin and his brow furrowed, and Qrow couldn't help but find himself with the same reaction. Surely it had to get to a point where it was all seen as being suspicious at some point? Qrow wasn't sure, but if there was anything that he was fairly certain of, it was the fact that someone would surely have to realize that there was something wrong at some point.

But if they hadn't been noticed yet, then Qrow figured that they were doing something right. Somehow the group had managed to fly under the radar for long enough that no harm had come to them.

The knowledge that not getting caught the last time that they'd tried to rob a bank was a _fluke_ made Qrow grit his teeth in significant frustration. As much as he wanted to be able to believe in James and what he said, Qrow wasn't quite able to get past that little fact.

They'd barely made it out the last time that they'd gone through something like this.

This time, they were going to be hoping that nothing of a similar nature would be able to happen again.

Qrow figured that if this was going to be the last job that the group ever did, it was a good thing. The less they acted going forward, the fewer chances there were for them to get caught and picked up by the police for what they'd done.

James let out a quiet sigh though. "I always figured that you owned the warehouse." James said quietly as he turned to face Ozpin a little bit more directly. "And I also figured that you had connections to help you get the things that you needed."

Ozpin breathed out and took a step in towards James and Qrow before stopping, only a few feet away from the other two men. "Everything that we have done has been highly choreographed to ensure freedom." Ozpin said, and Qrow couldn't help but to think that it sounded like a canned sort of answer that was meant to brush off any further questions. It was almost like a media soundbite, in a way.

He figured that he could have ended up thinking about that particular detail for days and days if he wanted to, but Qrow tried not to bring it up. It wouldn't do any good for any of them if he went ahead pushing the topics that Ozpin probably didn't want to be brought up.

He just hoped that James wasn't going to do the same thing himself.

And based on the way that James was looking at Ozpin in that moment, with his eyebrow raised and his expression serious, Qrow was surprised that James didn't bring it up either. He picked a hand up and waved the concern away before shoving his hands back down into his pocket. "Will we be able to come by later and begin delivering the supplies for the job?"

"Of course." Ozpin reacted, calm as ever. "I'm sure that you've been careful to get everything together that we could possibly need?"

"I have." James answered. "Of course, certain arms are difficult to attain but-"

"But I've selected an excellent arms dealer for you." Ozpin said, a slight smile creasing their face as they stood there beside James. "And I'm sure that whatever you've had leftover from past jobs has also helped?"

"It has." James replied, a little too quickly. "Glynda's had some things stored away, and the same could be said for Roman." He hesitated for a long moment, thinking hard, and Qrow watched James' expressions and his face for any sort of change that could tell him just what was going through James' head at that time. It was all there, in the slight crease of James' brow, and the tensing of his shoulders underneath the sweater that he was wearing. "I didn't have as much of my own leftover supplies, though."

"That doesn't surprise me." Ozpin said calmly. "Seeing as I had to make sure that your arm was complete again."

Qrow cocked an eyebrow, deeply confused. His gaze flicked over to James, who he saw reach for his waist almost by second nature and clearly without thinking about the motion at all.

"What do you mean?" Qrow asked, raising his voice and drawing some attention onto himself for a little bit. "You made sure his arm was complete again, what the hell does that-"

"My gun." James cut Qrow off, and while normally that would have been enough to make Qrow boil in frustration at least on some level, he didn't find himself angry. The gears were turning in his head, and they all clocked at once. He remembered the gun case that Ozpin had been sure to have delivered to James, and the way that the entire room had craned their necks while James opened it to see what there was inside of that box.

"Yes." Ozpin said, sighing. They focused on Qrow with those hazel eyes of theirs, and Qrow had to fight back every urge to run or react to it that bubbled up in him. That wouldn't get him anywhere, and it definitely wouldn't be worth it to stir up further trouble. "I'm aware that it's mostly a symbolic gesture, but-"

"It's _entirely_ symbolic." James replied, and Qrow once again saw the way that the man's jaw tensed and the frustration showed all too clearly on his face. "Especially considering that I never load the damn thing."

That settled a silence over the three of them, and for the first time, Qrow actually registered the fact that James wasn't lying about that. He knew for a fact that James carried the gun on him at work, but he'd never seen James mention it. Every time that they went out into the field for a job properly, James would always make sure that Qrow was armed and that he had ammunition but-

If James wasn't carrying bullets himself, Qrow wasn't sure what the man was expecting from the jobs that he went out on. Was he living with some sort of death wish, or was there something else going on that James /really/ didn't want for anyone else to know about?

Qrow didn't know. He also didn't know how he was going to ever be able to bring the topic up to James directly. How could anyone ever bring that sort of thing up? How could be pretend like James wasn't placing himself at an additional risk by deciding to be one of the up-close people on the job? How could he pretend like there was /anything/ that was even remotely sane about James' actions?

He swallowed hard and tried not to think about some of the things that had happened in the past. James getting stressed because he'd waved a gun in a teenaged girl's face. The convenience store employee.

Suddenly it made all too much sense why James and Qrow had left that man on the side of the highway on that first job together.

Had that gun been loaded, Qrow was sure that James would have had to fire. That store clerk would have _died._

"Jim?" Qrow asked, raising his voice just slightly to catch James' attention, and to no surprise of his whatsoever, James did respond to it. It was only with a look, sad and almost soft as it was. But it was a response nonetheless. "Are you serious?"

"I am." James said finally before locking his eyes onto Ozpin. "I refuse to risk any lives that are additional to our own."

"Yes, of course." Ozpin reacted calmly. "That explains so many bombings, doesn't it?"

The color drained out of James' face all at once.

Qrow wasn't a fan of how uneasy he began to feel at the suggestion that had been brought forward either. He was sure that if he got a chance to look at himself, he would have seen that he himself was looking pale and upset.

 _Bombings_.

Qrow had thought about that in the past a number of times over, he'd thought about the implications of what they were doing. They'd done plenty of bad things, but...

If James had been doing his best to keep them from getting anyone killed, and it all boiled down to a string of bombings, it was likely that it was all a failure.

But one quick glance over to James told him that the other man was all but trembling where he stood. His blue eyes had gone dark, his expression had changed, and his brow had furrowed violently. James was balling his hands into fists at his sides, and he took an angry half-step forward towards Ozpin.

"You think that I wanted to do those?" James asked, his voice so low and dark that Qrow couldn't help but feel deeply intimidated by what the man was saying. "It was all-"

"James." Ozpin spoke a little too calmly. "Do you think that you are without fault?"

James sneered something that Qrow wasn't quite able to make out before turning on his heel and making his way out of the building. Qrow wanted to turn and follow after James to find out if there was anything that he could do to make James feel better.

But Qrow was sure that nothing would have been able to do that. Not with what had just been dropped on them like an atom bomb. Not with everything that was hurting them so heavily.

Distantly, Qrow was able to hear the sound of the car door getting slammed shut, and he sighed. This wasn't how he wanted to have to experience being around Ozpin.

"Qrow." Ozpin spoke to draw his attention over to them, and Qrow wasn't so sure that he liked it. But if he was going to be the only one that was able to deal with Ozpin since James' anger had been pushed to the forefront. "I do hope that this hasn't made you want to turn your back on this assignment."

Qrow closed his eyes and tried not to get too wound up in his own feelings, or the way that his heart was pounding against his chest. He didn't want to find himself making things worse by trying to talk to James when the man was already so hurt.

"I dunno, Oz." Qrow said finally, keeping his voice down and shoving his hands deep down into his pockets in the hopes that it would be enough to hide any of his anger. Qrow was sure that if he didn't do anything to try and hide it all, he would have ended up shaking with frustration, or snapping, or otherwise physically lashing out. "I'll have to think about it."

Ozpin went silent for a while, and Qrow didn't want to say anything about it. "You do know that it's too late to leave, don't you?"

Qrow's expression sank, as did his stomach. He could feel that knowledge bubbling at the back of his head that prodded and told him that he was going to have to admit that at least on some level, Ozpin was right. Leaving as things were was too dangerous, and the payoff...

The harsh realities of the world said that Qrow definitely needed that payoff to be able to figure his own life out. He didn't know that it was every going to be possible for that to happen so easily. That money was going to end up being Qrow's way off of the family couch and into his own life.

A quick glance over his shoulder showed James was still in the car. He was hunched over and he looked like he was hugging himself close in some sort of attempt to comfort himself. Qrow wanted to be there for him, and he needed to try to do something to get Ozpin off of his back, even if it was only going to end up being for a little while.

"Yeah." Qrow muttered darkly. "I know."

Ozpin nodded slowly, like that was the only thing that they'd needed to hear. "I do hope that I'll see you both again."

Qrow frowned, but he had to force himself to answer. "Yeah," Qrow finally said with a heavy sigh. "I know."

With that, Qrow turned on his heel and he made his way over to the car. He climbed in on the side which was open, which Qrow quickly realized meant that he was going to be driving. He paused and glanced over at James before finally saying something to the other man. "You want to get out of here?" Qrow asked, keeping his voice down. "Or..."

"Yes." James mumbled quietly as he unfolded himself slightly. "Please."

"Got it." Qrow said, turning the car on and beginning the drive out of the parking lot and back in towards the city. The silence hung between the two of them for far too long, and Qrow didn't quite know how he wanted to deal with it. Maybe the best thing that he could do was let James stew for a little while.

"Do you want to get something to eat?" Qrow asked, keeping his voice down for a little while.

"Yeah." James answered, with a slight sigh that sat too heavy on his breath. "Food sounds good."

"If you want, we can hop over to Roman and Junior's for a little while." Qrow offered, turning onto the road that was going to inevitably bring himself and James over to the same chinese restaurant that they always stopped at when they got a chance.

"That would be good." James said, his voice too distant as he looked out the car window looking for something that Qrow wasn't so certain that James was going to be able to find. "I'm sorry, Qrow."

Qrow blinked, and he wasn't so sure that he wanted to hear it. They both probably needed some comfort for a little while, but he didn't want it to be a constant give and take. He needed for things to feel even, at least for a little while.

"It's alright." Qrow said quietly. "I'm not blaming you, Jim."

"You should." James mumbled, his voice so far away that Qrow was sure that he could have measured the distance if he needed to.

But instead, Qrow decided that the best thing that he could do for James was let the quiet settle as he went inside to get them food and left James to stew in his anger, at least for a little while.


	77. Contingency Planning

"We are just so glad to have you two here, regardless of _why._ " Roman was buzzing about his and Junior's family kitchen, looking a little more than simply worn ragged or exhausted. It wasn't as though it was all that late in the day, but Roman seemed to be holding things together well enough, even if he seemed a little frantic or scattered.

"Well, we're glad to be here." James said, holding his head high and leaning against a wall with his arms crossed over his chest in a slight attempt at playing towards comfort. "Of course, we have plenty to talk about-"

"Of course." Junior spoke up, pouring a couple of glasses of water before looking between James and Qrow. He didn't look like he was at his most comfortable, but James had a few reasons as to why he expected as much. Part of it had to do with the fact that all three of Roman and Junior's girls were there that day. It meant that the adults were going to have to be careful.

The good thing was that the kids all seemed to be sufficiently distracted by whatever was playing on TV that day. If they could just keep their voices down, then they would be able to get whatever they needed to do done that day without ending up with Junior's twins and Neo pestering them too much.

Roman hummed and turned, reaching for a dish towel so that he could dry his hands off for the time being. "Well, I'm sure that there's a particular reason that you two wanted to visit us?" He leaned back against the counter and held his head up high. All that James could think when he looked the man over was that he was confident, but it was a front if nothing else.

James glanced over at Qrow out of the corner of his eye, searching for something in the other man's expression in stance that would be enough to guide him through this conversation. James knew that he would probably have done much better if he had managed to concentrate on something other than his own anger when he'd been talking to Ozpin earlier that day. If he hadn't gone off to the car to try and calm himself down, James was sure that he would have managed to catch a bit more.

Whatever Qrow and Ozpin had talked about once James had left, he didn't know what it was. James wasn't sure whether or not he was going to ever be able to find any sort of relief in that fact.

"There is." James said finally, keeping his voice as even as possible as he leaned forward just enough so that he could check that there was nobody trying to intrude on where they were for the time being. Once James saw that the kids were out of the way, James allowed himself to speak up. "Qrow and I went to the warehouse today."

"Oh." Roman said, his eyes widening just slightly at the reveal in surprise. The man shifted a little uncomfortably, and James couldn't pretend as though he was surprised by that at all. "So that's it?"

"Kinda." Qrow broke into the conversation just as he took a glass from Junior before balancing it on the counter behind him. "We were trying to get a good idea of how the roads were going to look, and when we got to the warehouse..." His voice trailed off, and James couldn't help the hard swallow that he made almost by instinct. James shifted a little bit, knowing that his discomfort was showing all too clearly to the other two men. "Well, Oz was there."

"Ozpin?" Junior asked, keeping his voice hushed and leaning in towards the door to check that the girls were out of the way as well. "What were they doing there?"

"Getting cars ready for the job." James replied, trying his hardest not to let himself get too emotional. That wasn't something that would be able to help him and Qrow in this conversation. It definitely wouldn't do anything to help Roman and Junior either. "We ended talking about the job. Contingency plans and all of that."

Roman and Junior glanced at each other, both frowning and neither looking like they were even remotely comfortable with the situation at hand. Roman opened his mouth to speak, but only clamped it back shut a moment later. It was almost like he'd realized that he didn't have anything that he wanted to say. Or maybe he didn't have something to say at all. James didn't know, all that he could tell was that Roman was very visibly uncomfortable.

Junior reached over and placed a too-careful hand over Roman's and James could see the slow motion of Junior's thumb slowly travelling over the back of Roman's hand. If it was actually able to do something to comfort Roman, it didn't show all that much. Junior did seem to relax though, at least slightly.

The two of them stared each other down, and James found himself glancing over at Qrow out of the corner of his eye to see that the other man was comfortable too. Qrow didn't look happy. He was staring down at the floor with his brow furrowed and anger reading all too clearly on his face. James didn't know how he was supposed to react to it.

Really, he didn't know how he was going to be able to react to any of this. There was really nothing that James was sure that he could have done to make any of the others feel better. In the end, this as more like an impromptu meeting than it was anything else.

They all knew that.

"So this contingency plan." Junior spoke finally, turning his eyes onto James and raising an eyebrow. "Care to share?"

James let out a quiet sigh and nodded slowly, since the only thing that he could really do in a situation like this was do whatever he could to try and comfort the other two men. He let out a quiet sigh and tried desperately not to frown too much before he finally began his explanation of the situation. "As of now, there are doubts that we'll be able to get access to one of the more critical pieces of the job."

"So the truck." Roman mumbled, keeping his voice as quiet as possible. "It's the truck, right?"

"Yeah." Qrow replied, shifting slightly and crossing his arms over his chest where he stood as well. He seemed like he was much more nervous than he was letting the others see clearly. James could see him doing whatever he could to twist his ring on his finger with his thumb, like he thought that it was going to somehow calm him down. "If we can't get the truck then..."

"Then?" Junior asked.

"If we can't get the truck, then we will be using a more... traditional method." James nearly groaned out his explanation since that was the only reaction that he could really think to have as he stood there with Roman, Qrow, and Junior. "I'm sure that you two both will be able to figure out what I mean by that."

"Yeah." Roman said, grimacing. "Got it."

"It's not ideal, by any means." James mumbled, knowing that it wasn't going to do much of anything to help make the situation any better, but he didn't want to let himself think about it all too hard. Letting it go too quiet for too long felt dangerous. "I'm well aware."

"It's a good way to get us all _killed_." Roman sneered, and James squeezed his eyes shut. There was absolutely nothing that he could do to comfort the others. Nothing would ever be able to do that. James had realized that long ago.

Because of that, James couldn't bring himself to even to attempt to deny what was such a clear and obvious fact. Where things were staying was a bad place, which would assuredly do nothing for the morale of the group. Despite that, James couldn't do anything to change what Roman had said. While the very true statement was hurting them, a lie would only make things get worse.

At the very least, James was sure that he owed it to the others to make sure that their trust was well placed. Honesty was all that he could give them, even if it hurt him to think of it in such ways.

"That is correct." James said, grimacing at the realization of just how somber his voice had come off. "It's a deathtrap, nothing more."

James lifted his glass to his lips and sipped from it, buying himself a few moments where he wasn't going to have to talk and offering those seconds to the others to speak up if they wanted to. The silence settled for a little longer than James would have personally liked, but there was a saving grace.

Deep in him, there was a part of James that couldn't have been more happy that it had come from Junior of all people. It almost made things feel like how they had used to be, and James was sure that he was never going to be able to figure out why that felt like a good thing.

"So," Junior spoke up. He sounded frustrated, and his expression showed it in every crevice of his face. It was in the creases in his brow, it was in the tensing of his shoulders. "If that's how things are going to go, what's the plan, General?'

James almost wanted to go ahead and protest the use of the codename slash nickname that he'd carried with this little circle of people for the last five years of his life. He was sure that Junior had some sort of end goal in using that name here, and James was sure that he would have found only a favourable answer if he were to ask about it.

This was, in all likelihood (and James would have even been willing to bet on it) and attempt to make him feel more settled into the position of power he'd been placed in.

"If things go that way," James mumbled. He craned his neck just slightly, taking the chance to make an almost paranoid check of the area to make sure that none of the kids in the other room were trying to listen in. He took a deep breath and raised a shaky hand to rub at the back of his neck. "Then we're going to have to rely on old-fashioned improvisation. Even if it dooms us."

"But-" Roman broke into the conversation, with his nervousness all too obvious based on the sound of his voice alone. "If that's the case then-"

"I know." James grimaced and picked his head up. "It's a reality that we have to remain aware of. But if it goes that way, keep in mind that we do have certain priorities to keep."

"And those are?" Qrow asked, looking a little bit miffed. James didn't want to read into it too much.

"The money is a priority, but it should come as a lower priority than avoiding capture." James let out a heavy breath and closed his eyes in the hopes that he was going to be able to find some way to relax with that in mind. It was in all likelihood going to prove to be nothing more than a failure.

James could deal with that."

Qrow blinked and looked over at Junior. He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but Junior was the one to speak first, after barely even a moment of established eye contact with Qrow. "So if things go that bad, we just get rid of the money?"

"Correct." James grumbled. "And you all will have to remember to keep your eyes open for dye packs." When the others didn't say anything, James decided that the best further route to take was to go ahead and try to explain himself. "Last time, we were lucky that we didn't get hit with them." He began to explain. "If that happens this time around, and we get caught, it's an obvious sign. After that, known associates get investigated and..." His voice trailed off for a moment, and James couldn't help the frown that creased his face. "And if that happens, then we're all likely to end up in prison."

"You mean that?" Roman asked, keeping his voice down and reaching over to Junior to lace his fingers with the other man's. Junior didn't comment on it at all, just took the moment to let the two of them twin together in whatever way made him the most comfortable. "If that happens-"

Junior and Roman exchanged a look that spoke multitudes to just how bad things would get for them. For just a moment, James was almost glad for the fact that Penny was living with her mother. At least that way she still had a home to go to if something went wrong. Penny could theoretically survive if he ended up in prison.

James couldn't do anything to ignore what would happen to Roman and Junior's daughters if they got found out. They would lose both of their fathers, and then they'd probably end up living with Junior's mother. While she sounded like a lovely woman, James didn't think that would be a good way for things to end up for any of the parties involved. If things fell apart, James was absolutely certain that the apartment where he was standing was going to be the one hit the most hard by it.

Because of that, it became more important to James that they do everything that they possibly could to avoid capture than ever before. He couldn't think of a way that he'd be able to live his life with a family like this one ruined resting on his shoulders.

He owed it to Roman and Junior to get them out of this safely.

"If either of you are found out, you both know what will happen." James finally repeated, every word feeling too heavy on his lips and his frustrations showing possibly a little too obviously. "Which is why if things go south, you get rid of the money, get rid of your cars, and do everything in your power to get away from this. If Ozpin comes knocking, don't answer. Cut contact with everyone else. Junior, Roman, you two, above all else, _need_ to get out. This is serious. No room for error."

"Right." Roman managed a word, his voice coming out as just barely above a whisper. "Got it, boss."

James hesitated for a long time after that, and every second of hesitation that ticked by him was another one that added to the list of worries that he had on his shoulders. In the back of his mind, James was careful to keep it in mind that he had managed to communicate everything that he'd needed to in order to make sure that the most vulnerable members of their group would have a way out.

Deep down, James knew that he needed to go ahead and make sure that he got a chance to talk to Winter about things as well. That wasn't ideal by any means, but James was willing to deal with that fact. He closed his eyes and let out a quiet sigh before he looked up at the others.

"I'm glad that we're all clear on this matter." James said, knowing that his voice was coming out too stunted in the moment. "And while I seriously hope that it won't come to that-"

Roman smiled at him, too confident and too brightly, and James didn't know how to feel about it quite yet. Why was Roman feeling so confident? Roman had been the one to see the worst of the last attempt at a bank robbery, James was more than positive about that.

"We're clear, boss." Roman reiterated. He shifted in the kitchen and looked over at the food that he was cooking. He only spent a moment there stirring a pot of something before he smiled softly and looked over at Junior. "Right?"

"Right." Junior answered, his expression surprisingly tight but his voice managing not to match it at all. That was something that didn't bother James so much. "We're going to be fine."

James nodded slowly, and he hoped that he was going to be able to relax enough to be able to move forward with where things were. They had a job to do. They needed to be clear in what their goals were going to be. He had some questions that he needed to bring forward, though.

There was a long wait there the entire room was silent before James glanced over at Qrow out of the corner of his eye. Qrow was looking relatively confident, but it wasn't what James wanted to see. He wanted to see Qrow looking confident about things too. James needed for the others to all be on top of things if they were going to be able to get through all of this without too much trouble.

It didn't do anything to make James feel better. He needed to stop hoping that the others were going to be able to make him feel more relaxed- it wasn't going to manage to get him anywhere in his life if he did.

"What is it?" Qrow asked, his voice calm.

James inhaled deeply and nodded. "Just thinking." He murmured, a little bit quieter than he should have. Finally, he turned his gaze over to Roman and Junior again. "Have you two done any of your homework?"

"We have." Junior said, smiling. "It's easy enough for us to do it casually. We drive by the place when we go to see my mom."

"And because of that-" Roman said with a bright, wide grin. "We're able to do recon on the stealth. The girls don't know that something is up, and we're able to go about our normal business without going out of our way too much."

It almost felt like James had managed to be struck with a strong wave of relief, and he was beyond glad for it. It was a chance that he was going to be able to relax at least slightly about things. They were doing their jobs, and that meant that James only had two more people that he was going to need to check in on before they went forward in planning the job.

The good thing was that they were both people that James was confident he was able to trust. Glynda had always managed to be on top of things, and Winter was in a role that James hoped was going to be enough to keep her out of the fray and safe. That was all that he needed.

James reached for his pocket and checked his phone, bringing up a map of the city and looking it over in hopes that he'd be able to find some sort of better route for all of them to use. He scrolled over the small map of the city, looking over the area around the bank closely in hopes of finding something that would be enough to make things worse.

"That's good." James managed to mumble eventually, although he realized that it was likely belated. "I'm just trying to be sure that we have as many of our ducks in a row as we can manage."

He didn't look up to see whether or not someone was there staring at him, because at the very most James knew that was something that he could expect from all of this. It was the gentle weight of Qrow's hand on his shoulder that made James pick his head up and look up and over at Qrow, who was finally wearing a slight smile.

"Hey," Qrow said quietly. "It's going to be fine."

Deep down, James didn't know how he was supposed to be able to keep going through all of this. Qrow was good to him. Qrow was one of the few things in the world that James was sure that he could actually believe in most of the time.

"I know," James mumbled, his voice a little more hoarse and obviously worried than he would have liked. "It's just hard."

"It is." Roman confirmed, a little more somber sounding than he normally would have been. "But I think that this is going to be a good way for us to get through things."

"Roman's right," Junior spoke up. He sounded so calm that James didn't know how he managed to do it. He couldn't even begin to imagine how the man was thinking and feeling in the moment. "What happened last time was a freak accident. We all know it. It's going to be dangerous, but that's just a part of what we're going to have to face." He hesitated for a long time. "We can do this."

"Exactly." Qrow said, smiling a little bit cockily. "We can do this."

"We can do this." James mumbled, doing his best to match the tone of the others for just a moment as he stood there. "We can do this." He repeated the line, trying to convince himself that it was correct.

No matter what, James wasn't actually so certain that it was going to be enough. They still had a hell of a job ahead of them, and there were so many ways that it could go wrong.

He just had to be hopeful that they were going to be able to get out of this relatively unharmed.

There were details that had been looked after, that was what was the most important thing to James. That was all that mattered.

Soon, they were going to have to go ahead and do their best to prove that they were actually capable of what they'd said.

But when the food that Roman had been cooking was finished, James and Qrow politely excused themselves and got themselves out of the apartment and made their ways back to his house for the rest of the night.

James and Qrow were both glad to be able to take the time to relax for the time that they had there.

Soon, they would be put to the test.

Nothing scared James more than the prospect of _soon._


	78. Taking Notes

"So recon still sucks." Qrow muttered, curling himself up in the passenger's seat of James' car as the two of them waited for the bank to close. The plan was that the two of them were just keeping an eye open for anything that could help them out with the robbery that was hurtling faster and faster towards them.

They had decided to park in a nearby parking lot where nobody paid much attention to the cars there. It wasn't by any means an ideal spot for them to work, but it was doing the trick.

For the second time since James and Qrow had first started working together, they were sitting in a car listening to a police scanner and just watching and waiting for something to happen that would have been of use to them. Originally, the two of them had different plans for that night, but a phone call from Ozpin to James at around two in the morning had been enough to derail everything that James and Qrow had originally been intending to do.

It was frustrating, but Qrow also accepted that James was going to have different jobs because of his role in the planning of this one. He wasn't happy about it, but he accepted it. Even now, when he was sitting behind James in the car and distinctly unhappy about the fact that they were probably going to be there for hours, Qrow was unhappy.

But this was also just what his lot in life was. Qrow had learned to accept that a while ago.

Regardless, there wasn't really anything that was going to be able to stop Qrow from complaining about the situation.

James let out a frustrated sigh and reached over to his phone, taking just a moment so that he could turn down the volume and make it a little easier for the two of them to talk. Qrow couldn't really pretend like the radio buzz wasn't annoying, so the change of volume was welcome.

Nothing had managed to come through the radio that was even of relative interest, and that was about half of the reason that Qrow was so frustrated by the situation.

They had work to do, but right now they were just sitting there and doing absolutely nothing. Qrow was sure that once everything managed to pan out he and James were going to be able to get something for the two of them to eat that day. Their shared breakfast had been light, and lunch had been just a couple of sandwiches that they'd picked up at a gas station- neither of them had been too happy about that. James had been particularly unhappy about it, but Qrow was more flexible about the things that he put into his body.

Now that it was getting late, Qrow was thinking that he could kill for a good pizza. Maybe tacos. Maybe a beer to top off the meal.

In the driver's seat, James shifted uncomfortably and didn't look over at Qrow. He just kept his eyes glued to the bank. "I know." James mumbled, not paying Qrow the most attention. Whatever it was that James was surely looking for, Qrow was sure that James was mostly confident that they were going to learn something that day. "It's going to be a while."

"I know." Qrow muttered, feeling so deeply annoyed by everything. "I'm just sick of sitting here on some errand that Ozpin didn't care enough to clue us in on."

James rolled his blue eyes for a moment. "They told us what we're doing here." He said, a little too calmly and taking his time to work his way through every word.

"Yeah?" Qrow asked. "I think you might have to remind me what we're doing, then."

"There's supposed to be a delivery here tonight." James explained. "When it arrives, the two of us are going to have to do everything in our power to be able to keep a low profile so that nobody realizes what we're doing here." He set his phone down finally, and for the first time in nearly an hour, James looked over at Qrow. "We're just here to observe a pickup to make sure that we know what the procedure is supposed to look like for when we go ahead and do it ourselves."

It wasn't the most interesting answer for what they were doing there, Qrow thought to himself, but it did make sense. It explained everything about what he and James were doing there, and Qrow figured that was all that they needed. He shifted slightly and looked over at James, catching the other man's eyes. "You really think we're going to be able to figure all of this out by just sitting here?"

"Do you have a better idea?" James asked, calm as ever. "Because if you don't have an idea-"

"Yeah, I got it." Qrow muttered, feeling himself tense almost involuntarily before relaxing into the seat of James' car a little bit more. It wasn't going to be nearly enough to make him feel less frustrated by the situation. "Just annoying that we have to take so much time today."

"I know." James said, keeping his voice down and letting himself relax just slightly against his seat himself. "It's going to be a while before anything gets finished by the looks of things."

Qrow nodded, looking at the bank and watching as a few people streamed out of it. It looked like it was just a pair of tellers, which wasn't the most interesting. "So how is this supposed to go anyways?"

James hesitated for a long while, swallowing hard and letting his hands ball into fists as they rested on the steering wheel in front of him. "In theory?"

That was very much the thing that Qrow didn't want to hear from James. Bringing up theory wasn't going to be enough to save them if they ended up on the job needing to do this without much of an idea as to what they were doing. There were too many opportunities for it all to fall apart, and Qrow didn't like that they were working off of theoreticals at the moment.

"Yeah," He said bitterly. "In theory."

James let out a sigh that Qrow couldn't help but think sounded thoroughly frustrated by the situation at hand. "The theory is that there should be a couple of people in addition to the delivery truck that'll be arriving." James explained as calmly as he could manage. "We should be expecting for whoever the branch manager is to be there, plus bank security, and then probably whoever is in charge of the vault."

"That's..." Qrow frowned, going over the list in his head as he tried to figure out how they were going to get past that list of people. It was going to be a lot of people that they were going to have to hope weren't going to notice their faces. It was an all too easy opportunity for one of them to be noticed. If just one of them was recognized and caught, then it all was going to fall apart. "That's a lot of people, Jim."

"Yeah," James said, sounding all too nervous for someone that had robbed banks before. Too nervous for a leader. "It is."

"So what's your solution for all of that?" Qrow asked, looking over at James and watching his shoulders to see whether or not James was going to be able to make himself relax, even slightly. It didn't seem like that was going to be happening anytime soon. Qrow made a mental note that if he got a chance he should go ahead and offer a backrub or something when they got back to the house.

Besides, Qrow thought to himself. It was entirely likely that he and James were going to end up sharing their bed that night. He didn't like thinking about it that much, since the fact that neither he or James seemed to think about the fact that they were sharing a bed most nights seemed to be off of either of their radars. Qrow vastly preferred it that way, because he knew what he could expect from James.

He wanted to think that James was going to be open to getting that sort of treatment when the two of them got home. Based on how frustrated he seemed, Qrow was willing to bet on it. As for himself... Well, Qrow figured James' relaxation would be enough to make him feel more relaxed himself.

"I've been thinking on it." James admitted calmly. "We're going to have Ozpin making sure that nothing gets by on the cameras. I don't like trusting them with that important of a role that much, but since the last job..." James seemed to pause, and Qrow raised an eyebrow.

There were still a lot of things that hadn't exactly been brought forward for discussion between James and him. That last job had been a mess, and it seemed like James was doing everything that he possibly could in an attempt to dodge the topic.

"You trust them on the cameras, don't you?"

"I do." James said, letting out a quiet sigh. "They didn't exactly fail us on the last job."

"Did they?"

"They didn't." James reiterated, his eyes snapping back over to the bank. "When things started falling apart on that job, they were there and they were able to keep a cool enough head to keep us from getting into extra trouble." He paused for a long time, and Qrow could practically see the gears turning in James' head as he tried to figure out what he wanted to do say to Qrow that could further explain things.

As for Qrow, he didn't really know what had gone instead of that room during the last heist. He just knew that James and Junior had gotten caught up somehow, but they'd managed to finish it.

"So you have faith in them when it comes to the cameras?"

"Yeah," James said, letting out a too heavy sigh. "I think so. I know that this could be a lot better, but..."

Qrow blinked and nodded, not feeling like he was being comforted much, if at all, by what James had said. This was just one of the things that they were going to have to face going forward. And if it was going to be a situation where very few people actually trusted in the system in place... well, then Qrow figured he had to be ready for whatever that was going to entail moving forward.

"It's what we have to work with." Qrow finished, though he didn't feel all that confident with what he'd just said. It was just all that he had to work with that day, and Qrow was going to hold onto it. He glanced over at James, and he hoped that it was going to be enough.

James just stared back at him for a long moment before nodding. "It's what we have to work with." The man repeated, sounding anything but confident, but resigned to the situation. Qrow grimaced, but he knew that he was going to have to at the very least try to be accepting of what was happening going forward. No matter what, Ozpin was going to be intimately involved with the process of whatever went on during this job.

"I just don't like the odds, Jim." Qrow said, keeping his voice down as he looked back over towards the bank where the back door was beginning to open. Realizing what was going on, he leaned forward and did his best to get a good view of whatever was happening there.

Slowly, a truck began to pull up to the building, and that was when it became clear that they were finally in business. The conversation that they'd been having was abruptly dropped, and Qrow couldn't have cared for that fact any less. He reached over to James and thumped the man on the chest to make sure that he had James' attention. "Jim."

"Yeah, I see it," James answered him, though Qrow couldn't help but note that James sounded at least a little bit irritated. If he put any thought into it, Qrow would have probably realized that his decision to beat on James' chest had to do with that annoyance, but James didn't say anything else. Instead of speaking, James was careful to turn off the radio and he removed something from the center console of the car that sat between the two of them.

It was a black leather case, with a simple silver clasp that was holding it shut. Qrow's first instinct told him that it was some sort of camera case, but he watched as James opened it and removed a pair of binoculars. James toyed with them for a short moment before bringing them up to his face and just watching.

"Well?" Qrow asked, hoping that they were finally getting somewhere. He cast a quick look around the car and found nothing that he could do to help easily. When Qrow's eyes landed on his phone, he decided that was a good opportunity so he turned it on and flipped straight to the voice recording app.

At the very least, he could do this. Later on he was going to have to delete everything that he recorded, but Qrow figured that was inevitable.

"It's a pickup." James said, his voice as even as ever as he watched whatever was going on there. "Four guards," James began his explanation of what he was able to see. "All armed. Handguns."

Already Qrow felt a spike of something that was deeply uncomfortable beginning to build up in his chest, but he tried not to let it swallow him. Qrow figured that was going to be one of the most dangerous things that he could end up having to deal with. If there was anything that he was going to have to be able to do, it was keep a calm head.

"Think we can match that?" Qrow asked as he set the phone between the two of them so that it could pick up everything that they said. "If-"

"We can." James said, his voice eerily calm. "I'm confident that between everyone we're going to be able to match them in weaponry. Maybe not to the exacts, but whoever we're meeting may not have a trained enough eye to be able to tell the difference in what we're carrying."

That ball of anxiety that was settled so easily in the pit of Qrow's chest began to grow. It certainly wasn't the first time that he'd thought about the implications of the line of work that he was in, but sometimes there were times like this where some detail was dragged up that reminded him how distinctly fucked up everything was.

"What if they do?" Qrow asked, looking over at James, who didn't even turn to look over at him when he asked the question.

"We work with whatever we're given to work with." James said, lowering the binoculars away from his face for a moment. "Just don't be thinking that this is going to go one hundred percent smoothly."

"trust me," Qrow scoffed. "I wasn't thinking that it would."

"Good." James said, letting out a quiet sigh. For the first time, Qrow realized what emotion the sigh registered in his mind. Nervousness. Anxiety. James was feeling the same way that he was, just he seemed to be a lot better about covering it up than Qrow thought.

Or, a voice in the back of Qrow's mind provided, James was just doing more to cover it up after a few days where he felt like he'd become a burden. Qrow couldn't exactly do anything to forget James' breakdown a few days before, or his anger the day after.

It was possible that James had grown to be so wholly annoyed with his own emotional stake that he'd decided it was for the best if he turned himself off emotionally as much as he could.

Qrow shifted and looked at the door, watching for anything that seemed like it would be interesting or at the very least useful. There had to be something inside of the building that they weren't paying attention to, there had to be some detail that they were overlooking.

"Look like there's any paperwork or something?" Qrow asked, shifting and looking over at James. James raised an eyebrow, looking over Qrow's face quickly before wordlessly bringing his binoculars back up to his face and leaning in just slightly. Qrow couldn't help but notice the way that James seemed to crouch forward in an attempt to hide himself from anyone noticing that they were there.

"Yeah," James said calmly. "I can't speak for what'll be on it, but we should expect name, time, and official identification if anything."

"What's our solution for that?" Qrow responded, disliking the way that his anxiety grew a little stronger with every word that James said. "Because-"

"We're going to have to fudge it." James said all too calmly. "Fake names. Fake IDs. Whatever else we need to do. All that's important is that we're convincing while we're there before we make our way out of there."

Somewhere in the back of Qrow's mind there was a whisper of ' _fake it until you make it_ ,' and it was enough to leave him feeling like his stomach had somehow managed to flip over inside of him. It seemed like every time that they talked about the job, they'd only manage to find more and more ways that things could go wrong for them.

One day, it's cameras, the next they're talking about how they're supposed to be able to fudge paperwork when they get to the dirty parts of doing the actual job.

It only left Qrow worrying about what it was going to look like when the job finally came around. What were they going to get screwed over by because they hadn't noticed that it was going to be a problem in time?

When Qrow let himself look over at James as the two of them say together, he felt his heart beat hard in his chest. It left him feeling exhausted, it left him anxious and torn raw by the knowledge that James had almost been killed once trying to to do this job in the past.

And no matter how hard Qrow thought about it, he was sure that he was never going to be able to forget about how many places there were that things could go wrong.

He was sure that when he went to sleep, the visions of what could be was going to be exactly what kept him up. Lying in bed next to James wasn't going to be able to get him past everything that they were doing.

"I don't like it, Jim." Qrow said, dropping his volume and trying hard not to squirm too much in his seat. James was still watching the bank, and Qrow knew that it wasn't a good idea for him to let himself get too wrapped up in his own head. He needed to be there with James, and he needed to be able to keep the two of them working together. James needed to keep his his head straight.

That wasn't going to be able to happen if Qrow wasn't able to do the same.

Because of that, he forced his anxiety down, and oh, that was going to be a pain to deal with later on, and Qrow focused on the task at hand.

"Anything else?" Qrow asked as he balled his hands into fists in his lap. It was just one of the ways that he was going to be able to force himself to keep himself from getting into the middle of the problem. "If all that we're going to be leaving with that we can work with is guns and paperwork-"

"It's fine." James cut Qrow off, and his voice got a little harder than it should have been. "Anything that we know that's new is something that we can use."

It felt too optimistic, and Qrow figured that on at least some level James was right. It was just the fact of the matter was that Qrow had been hoping that the two of them would have been able to find more that they could use for this job. No matter what they found, no matter what they learned, there was some part of Qrow that doubted he was ever going to manage to feel satisfied with what they knew.

Qrow had his doubts that he'd manage to start feeling like he was on stable ground until even after the job itself. It was only going to be okay once it was all said and done, he was on the way out of the group, and he knew that everyone that he cared about was safe. It was going to be absolutely exhausting until that day finally happened.

And even then, Qrow had his doubts that was going to ever happen.

He picked his head up and leaned in towards the windshield on James' car, bracing himself against the dashboard. Qrow had to take the time to crane his neck in search of something else that they could use. A glint of something caught his eye, and he gently nudged James' arm.

"Jim." He said, pointing as subtly as he could manage.

James pulled away from his binoculars just for the time being and glanced over at Qrow with a raised eyebrow and a deeply annoyed expression on his face. "What?"

"Something on blondie's belt." Qrow mumbled, pointing out the guard in question. "Shiny."

James blinked and let out a sigh as he brought his binoculars back up to his face and presumably began to focus in on whatever it was that Qrow had noticed. He paused for a little too long, and Qrow had to worry for a moment that he'd only managed to point out someone's house keys or something equally uninteresting.

There was a silence that hung between the two of them and Qrow found that he had no choice but to sit there and wait for James to offer something that would be of use for them. Qrow hated having to wait, but finally James began to speak. When he did, the man kept his voice as even as he always did. When he spoke, james sounded like he was giving a matter of fact report to someone that wasn't there.

"We have one set of keys on one of the guards." James began to explain, not wavering away. "Can't make out what they might belong to, but it's possible that they are related to the vehicle or to the vault itself." James paused for a long moment, and Qrow had no choice but to wonder what it was that James was trying to dig through in his mind to say next.

Finally, after too much of a wait, James began to continue his explanation.

"Involvement in the vault is unlikely based on prior knowledge of the bank and of vaults on the whole." Qrow felt himself relax at least slightly because of that, but it wasn't all that much. Mostly, Qrow found himself clinging onto every word that James said because every one was bringing him a little bit closer to relaxed. "As far as I am concerned, this will most likely be related to the car."

There was a long moment of hesitation. "Should we not be able to obtain a truck, then we'll have some problems."

"If there's no truck, then none of this matters." Qrow muttered, and he knew that he was coming off as being as frustrated and even angry as he felt. And oh, how Qrow truly wished that he wasn't coming across as poorly as he felt he was.

All that he wanted was for things to feel like they made a little bit of sense, at least for a while.

Unfortunately, he was in a position where the metric of 'things that made sense' and 'pure dumb luck' were things that felt like that they mutually exclusive despite that not being the case. Every day the proverbial venn diagram between the two categories drifted closer and closer to just being two completely separate circles.

James nodded slowly, and he looked deeply annoyed by it all. "It's true." He mumbled. Qrow watched James set the binoculars down for just a moment as he just took a moment to try and relax for a little bit. It seemed that there wasn't really anything that was going to be able to get James to relax either.

But either way, they were relying on chance above all else, and that was a deeply dangerous game for the two of them to be playing.

"I'm getting more and more annoyed with Ozpin every day." Qrow said, though the admittance felt bitter on his tongue. There was really no way that he was going to be able to get through everything. He paused and shook his head, and Qrow had to wonder whether or not he had managed to indirectly cross a line between himself and James. "The less that they tell us..."

"I feel the same way." James said calmly, slumping down into his seat in an attempt to calm himself down at least on some level. Qrow suspected that James was also just doing his best to make sure that nobody noticed that they were there. Nobody was going to care if they saw an empty car, but they were going to get the police called on them if someone noticed that James and Qrow were there in the car. "But we aren't really in a position where we can ignore them or drop them from our plans."

"I know-" Qrow groaned the words out, and he knew that it was a little bit more than immature based on the way that he let it out. "I just hate that we're stuck like this."

James stared off into space for a long moment and nodded slowly. "I know." He said quietly. "I think that we all feel the same way, and there's really no way that we're going to be able to forget about that."

Qrow nodded and slumped back down into his seat as he made himself a little bit more comfortable for the minute. He watched as the people from the truck disappeared from view and the doors of the bank closed behind them. He turned and caught James' eyes with his own in an attempt to communicate with him. "Do you-"

"We'll wait it out." James muttered, shifting and letting himself sit up properly for just the moment as the two of them waited. "There's no telling how long we're going to have to be stuck here, but it probably doesn't help if we leave and risk losing some important details." James gestured mutely with his gloved hand, and Qrow resisted the urge to let himself reach over and take James' hand in an attempt to ground them both.

As much as it frustrated him to think that James was right, Qrow had to admit that James was right. It was a complicated situation, that was for sure, but ultimately James was right- they didn't want to lose a chance to find something that could actually be useful to them in the long run of things.

"Any idea how long it'll take?" Qrow asked. He was already expecting that the answer to that question was going to end up being a resounding "no" but he figured that it was for the best if he at least tried to prod. Besides, James seemed to have a weird enough history that if anyone did know something that could be of use, it would end up being James.

There was a long pause, and Qrow found himself just watching James' expressions the entire time. His brow furrowed, and his mouth creased into a rather unhappy frown. The man didn't move in his seat, but for a moment Qrow could have sworn that he'd seen James squeeze the steering wheel a little more tightly than he should have with his right hand.

More importantly, Qrow watched as the plastic warped underneath James' grip, and for a moment he was left silently wondering just what sort of things James was capable of with that arm that he hadn't dare let himself try doing.

What if James had the potential to be much more deadly than anyone could have possibly imagined, and he was quietly sitting back and keeping secrets from them?

With all things considered, Qrow had the feeling that there were a lot fewer 'what ifs' involved with that question than he would have liked. James had a spotty history and he was beyond quiet about a lot of it. Too many times Qrow had found himself forgetting about the fact that James did have a history with the military, regardless of whether he would let himself show that fact or acknowledge it to others. Qrow still knew nothing about whatever it was that James did there, but still.

Presumably any sort of that kind of experience was useful to them.

James had first mentioned that he was hired because he possessed a specific skillset that was considered useful. Qrow didn't know whether that meant that he was able to open safes or whether it meant something else. Maybe it had something to do with a tactical mind, or with his ability with a gun in his hand, or just how precise he could steer when going at high speeds.

Qrow didn't know, and he was scared shitless by that entire fact.

How was he supposed to ever be able to really ignore it? How was he supposed to be able to really forget about it?

Qrow didn't know, even as he wished that he did.

But if James had any good qualities, Qrow figured that the man's first and foremost best quality was that he was indeed a very patient man. James' jaw seemed to tighten just slightly in irritation, he just shook his head to deny that he might have any idea as to how long this was going to take.

Needless to say, Qrow wasn't too happy about that little revelation, but he also figured that there wasn't all that much that he could really do to deter it from becoming a problem. The two of them slipped into a sort of quiet, and Qrow couldn't stop thinking about the mission at hand.

Once in awhile, some things would get dictated into James' phone to clear up how things were going, but it wasn't such a big problem. Qrow quickly lost track of how long they were there, if only because he couldn't think of anything that he could really focus on other than whatever James was working on.

When the truck finally left, it was close to three hours after they had started watching for anything happened. Once it was gone, James decided that they were going to stay there for a little longer than they needed to, if only for the sake of staying under the radar. The good thing was that it meant that Qrow had the time to make an order for them that would surely be ready for them by the time they got going.


	79. Postscript

Morning came, and James was the first to climb out of bed. It was something he only did after spending a rather long time hesitating, if only because he couldn't quite bring himself to get out of bed when Qrow was there beside him, already comfortable and already at ease with the workings of the universe.

With Qrow there and curled in beside him, James couldn't help but think that he almost felt like the universe was remaking itself in that time. It was like for the little while that he and Qrow were wrapped up in bed together, the world managed to stop. The earth stopped turning, and the sun didn't dare arise for fear of what it was going to inevitably interrupt if it did.

But of course, perception didn't quite match the reality of the situation, and so James eventually did have to force himself out of bed and down the stairs for the morning so that he could ensure that he and Qrow would at least be able to have something to eat when Qrow finally got up.

He slipped out of bed as carefully as he could. and James found himself lingering there at Qrow's side for a little longer than he should have. He sat there for some time, watching and wondering about whether or not he should be reaching out and waking Qrow.

When James rose his hand and reached out to place it gently on Qrow's shoulder, he had to pause. To wake Qrow up when the man was sleeping and looking so comfortable would surely only manage to disturb the balances of the universe, and so James let Qrow sleep.

That didn't manage to stop James from leaning forward to press a careful kiss to the round of Qrow's bare shoulder before slipping out of bed.

In the silence that James had, Qrow took the time to plan out the day ahead of them. He was fairly certain that Qrow probably wanted to go out to Vale so that he could check in on his family. James was willing to make that drive, even if it was going to leave him itching and worrying for the fact that he could so easily slip off to check in on Penny for a little while.

He'd have her again soon, James reminded himself.

James shook the thought from his mind and began to set himself to work so that he and Qrow could have breakfast. It wasn't anything special, just a few plates of eggs and coffee, but James figured that was going to be enough for the two of them.

Eventually Qrow dragged himself downstairs and the two of them shared their coffee before Qrow confirmed James' suspicions- they were heading out to Vale for the day. James was fine with it, and Qrow agreed to drive if it was going to make things better for James. Because of that, James was more than glad to make the trip out to Vale with Qrow and the two of them were soon out the door and on their way to check in on the Xiao Long-Roses.

The drive to Vale was a pain as it always was, but Qrow's driving lessened it. The only thing was that James had largely agreed to the trip without asking what they were even going for first. If he knew what they were actually planning on doing once they got to Vale, then James supposed that he would be more comfortable with the trip. As things were though, he was going to just have to wait and see how things panned out.

Mostly, James was expecting that he was going to end up sitting on the couch in the Xiao Long-Rose house while Qrow talked to Summer and Taiyang about whatever it was he wanted to see them for. James was running under the assumption that Qrow wanted to see them and find out how Yang was doing in the wake of the birthday party.

Really, James didn't have any place there and he didn't want to impose on them in any way. He was there for Qrow, that was it.

That was what placed James standing at Qrow's side just outside of the house, waiting for someone to answer the door. Inside, he was able to hear the sound of a dog barking, and moments later Taiyang was there at the door, pulling it open and staring out at them awkwardly.

"Qrow?" Taiyang asked, looking a little bit more than just exasperated as he looked the two of them over. "What's going on?"

"We wanted to check in on you guys." Qrow said, sidling inside so easily that it almost took James a moment to remember that Qrow still technically lived there. James felt a slight pang of guilt for that- it wasn't any good to know that he was technically one of the things that was keeping Qrow away from his family.

"Well," Taiyang started with a heavy sigh. "Summer's out right now. Needed to take the girls shopping for a few things. School supplies and all of that."

"That's fine." Qrow muttered as he slipped out of his shoes at the door. James felt a single wave of nervousness as he stood there at the door, feeling unsure about whether or not he should do the same and remove his own shoes for the sake of fitting in with the rest. It was something that James wasn't a fan of having to do generally, especially when he felt like he had things to hide.

Taiyang didn't know, James told himself. Nobody had commented on his likelihood to keep on wearing shoes in the past, but still James felt nervous and awkward about it.

And James was somewhat jealous of the way that Qrow was able to flop down onto the couch without any concern. James took his seat and made himself comfortable at Qrow's side, hoping that it was going to be enough to deflect anyone away from noticing him.

Taiyang stepped into the living room and took the seat at Qrow's side, and Zwei was soon to climb up into Qrow's lap, wriggling excitedly the entire time.

"So." Taiyang began, giving Qrow a quick look over before his eyes flickered over to James for a moment. James just nodded politely in greeting, hoping that he'd be able to deflect some of the worries that were attached to his presence there. "What brings you two here today?"

"I wanted to drop in," Qrow said with a shrug, "Like I said. And because it's Jim's car I didn't want to leave him at home alone. Figured that was rude."

"I don't mind." James interjected, hopeful that he would be able to push some of the attention away from himself before Taiyang could ask. "I know that this is awkward."

"I don't mind having you here." Taiyang said, letting out a heavy sigh and the only word that James could find to describe how the man seemed was _exhausted._ "I was just trying to get some things cleaned up and done around the house before everyone got back." He shook his head and finally let himself relax back into the couch because that was the best thing that he could do for himself there. "Things have been... Chaotic lately."

"I can imagine." Qrow said, his expression falling and his eyes seemingly far away. "You hear from Raven since the party at all?"

Taiyang sighed heavily and nodded slowly, and James looked over at Qrow with some worry. All of a sudden things were beginning to fall into place for why Qrow had wanted to come out to Vale specifically. If Raven had done something to get into contact with Qrow, then James was sure that he would have heard about it at some point. If all that there had been so far had been silence, then James figured that spoke for itself.

The blonde's eyes flicked down to the carpet, and his expression was so sad that James didn't know what there was that could be done to make him feel better. Really, James knew that it wasn't his place to step in or try to intervene in some way. He wished that it would have been something that he could have helped with.

But James had his family problems of his own, and he tried not to force them onto others. The fact that he'd been allowed to be privy to so many things as he had been in relation to Qrow's family was a gift. It was a show of trust that James didn't dare let himself break.

"We've... heard from her a little bit." Taiyang admitted finally. "I think she's trying to keep her distance though."

Qrow nodded slowly, realization written clear on his face. "I haven't heard from her at all." He admitted, reaching up to scrub a hand through his dark hair. "If I wanted to I could have dropped in on her apartment, but I don't think that would go down well."

"I hear you." Taiyang breathed, knotting his hands together in his lap. James wanted to pick a hand up and gently rub at Qrow's shoulders, but he didn't let himself. The last thing that he wanted to do was make Taiyang uncomfortable by making him into some sort of third wheel in the situation. "Raven's always been pretty..."

"Yeah." Qrow finished for Taiyang with a shrug. "Exactly."

There was a long silence that settled over them for a few moments, but James was sure not to break it. He wasn't a part of this. If they wanted privacy, then James was more than open to slipping away to give Qrow and Taiyang space. All they'd need to do was ask him if that was what they wanted.

Finally, after what felt like some sort of eternity, Qrow spoke up and cut through the awkwardness himself.

"How's Yang doing?" He began, dropping his volume like he was afraid that he was going to end up being overheard despite the fact that they were the only ones that were left in the house. "I imagine that after..."

"Well," Taiyang laughed, but it was so exhausted that James didn't want to dwell on it for any longer than he needed to. "I said that things were chaotic."

"Good thing school's out then." Qrow muttered, flopping back against the couch almost bonelessly. He was staring down at his own hands, James realized. "Anything you think I could do?"

"I dunno." Taiyang admitted, finally picking his head up so that he could look over at Qrow. "I don't think that there's much you could do aside from stay here for a night or two and make things feel a little bit more like how home is normally supposed to be."

Qrow took a long moment to consider it. Already James was thinking about how it was probably for the best if he took what he did have and ran back to Atlas to give Qrow some time at home. It would give him a chance to get things further prepared for the job, and if he ended up needing Qrow, James would be able to call him at any time. Besides, James told himself, the best thing that he could do for the others was give Qrow his space so that he could be with his family again.

"If you want I could stay." Qrow offered, just as James had been expecting for him to. For a moment, James found himself worrying about what it meant for him to be able to recognize what Qrow's reaction was going to be. Perhaps that was a sign that they spent more time together than they needed to.

Now that he thought on it, the possibility of going home alone for a little bit didn't sound all that bad. Maybe the separation would be what James needed to be able to get his work done for the sake of the group. Ozpin would be able to drop in on him whenever they needed, and that wouldn't be great but...

Maybe having Qrow back in Vale instead of at the house with him would mean that James would be able to worry a little bit less.

Maybe what he needed was a chance to go to bed without thinking about how someone that he had the strong chance of getting killed was curled into the bed beside him.

Taiyang picked his head up and stared Qrow down with some rather genuine disbelief written across his face. "You don't mind staying here for a little while?" The man asked, and for just a moment James was sure that he saw some excitement flicker across Taiyang's expressions as well. "Because if you can do that-"

"Yeah, it's no problem." Qrow said, waving a hand in front of him like he thought that it was going to be enough to make him relax a little bit. Like he was physically pushing that worry away from himself for as long as he needed it to be away from him. "I mean, it's not like-" Qrow paused, and for the first time since their arrival he looked over at James.

James let out a quiet sigh. "I don't mind." He said, keeping his voice down for Taiyang's sake. "I figure that it's for the best if you stay here for a little while and reconnect with your family a little bit anyways."

Taiyang looked between James and Qrow, raising an eyebrow as he waited for someone to say or do something to indicate what was going on. James kept himself relaxed, and sent a soft smile over in Taiyang's direction for the sake of giving the blonde some comfort.

"You're sure?" Qrow asked, his voice coming with a certain edge to it that James didn't want to have to acknowledge because of what it meant. He didn't like thinking about things in terms of the ways that things could go wrong. He didn't like thinking about how he'd been able to sleep better for those nights that Qrow was there with him.

Despite it all, James was more than hyper aware of what the implications of Qrow being there were. He knew that he was going to inevitably go back to the house and when he got there, James was going to have to handle things on his own. It was bad, and James couldn't exactly think of any way that he was going to be able to make it good.

James was sure that he was never going to be able to stop worrying about it.

Qrow was just a phone call away, James reminded himself.

"I'm sure." He repeated, keeping his voice as soft around the edges so that he couldn't risk tipping Taiyang off to the reality that there was something very wrong with the situation that he and Qrow were in. That was the least that James could do for Qrow. "They're your family, and I could probably take the time to clean up my house anyways."

James stared into Qrow's eyes, and that was all that he really needed to be able to make the other man seem a little bit more relaxed. "Right." Qrow said finally, leaning back into the couch once more. "I'll just have to call you when I need a ride back into Atlas, right?"

"Exactly." James said, casting a soft smile in Qrow's direction.

"Wait." Taiyang spoke up, leaning forward and looking between James and Qrow as he tried to figure out what he should do for the others. "I'm going to take a moment to speak up." He said calmly. "James, if you've driven all the way out here just to have to drive back to Atlas, then I don't like it. I'm going to see whether Summer minds you being here for dinner or not, sound good?"

James was a little bit more than taken aback by the question, if only because he couldn't really figure out a way to read into things. Either Taiyang had finally figured out that there was something going on between himself and Qrow, or he was being completely genuine.

Well, James reminded himself, it wasn't as though both of those possibilities were mutually exclusive or anything. The normal thing for someone to do would be to just go ahead and invite a guest over for dinner.

Really, James was more than well aware of the fact that he was being paranoid about being there. There was really nothing to worry about, his repeated interactions with the Xiao Long-Rose family was good enough evidence of that already.

But, as loath as James was to admit to it, the prospect of a nice dinner with the Xiao Long-Rose family didn't sound _that_ bad. If anything, it was going to end up being a chance for him to unwind a little bit and get his head back together. There would be no spectres of work there, the chances of Ozpin dropping in on them randomly would be low. Really, it was a chance to relax, and James seriously needed that.

It could have been much worse.

"That sounds nice." James said, flashing his most charming smile in Taiyang's direction. He felt like he was doing what he could to make himself feel normal, but James felt like he was doing much more based on Roman Torchwick's personal playbooks than he was acting like himself. Whether that was a good or bad thing was something that he couldn't even begin to be sure of. "Thank you, Taiyang."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Taiyang said, his face lighting up completely. "You're basically family at this point." The man's blue eyes went between Qrow and James, and James couldn't ignore the feeling that told him that that Taiyang was looking for something. The look alone would have been something, but that being treated that he was a part of the family changed things.

"I appreciate it." James said, smiling and leaning back in his seat in a very weak attempt to relax at the very least. "I'll be happy to help if you think that you need it-"

"It's no problem." Taiyang said, turning to face Qrow and smiling all too widely the same way that he always would. "Is he always like this?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Qrow laughed. "It's not that bad."

James blinked, and he felt his heart freeze in his chest. There was something in the pit of his stomach that was all too urgently demanding that he go ahead and step out of the room. He needed space so that he could get away from Qrow and Taiyang and just think for a moment. Helt like he was starting to panic, but it was there, crawling under his skin and James couldn't go ahead and ignore it all.

It wasn't as though things hadn't been said for the most part. It wasn't like he and Qrow weren't close in that way.

It was just that having jokes going around with regard to the issue was suddenly shaking him.

"Excuse me." James said, grimacing as he pushed himself up to his feet. "I'll be back in a minute." With that, he slipped off and made his way off to the bathroom because that was about as inconspicuous as he could possibly get with the situation that they were in. James closed the door behind him, and took a deep, shaking breath.

Already, James was thinking about the obvious reality that there was going to be no way for him to forget about how badly things could be. There was going to be no way to gauge the amount of time that he was in that bathroom before someone started thinking that there was something wrong. There were too many ways that things could go wrong, and James really needed to have space for the time being if he was going to be able to get by.

So James forced the thought away from his being as quickly as he could and as violently as he could manage. James tore his glove off and turned the sink on before leaning forward so that he could splash some of the water against him. The water managed to make him feel like he was a little bit closer to reality, and that was what James needed.

Mentally, James began to count because it was a way that he could remember to breathe. If he was forcing himself to take his time to breathe, then there was no way that he could find himself in a situation where it could only get worse and worse the longer that he stood there.

Examining the facts was also useful.

First, James was certain that Taiyang hadn't meant anything by the comment. James didn't know why the comments and the joking were bothering him as badly as they were, but James also wasn't in a position where he could exactly ignore it. It bothered him. That was all there was to it. Maybe he'd get a chance to talk to Qrow about that eventually, or maybe being able to sit down with the Xiao Long-Roses for dinner would help. Maybe Qrow would be able to help deflect most of the problems away from him.

Second, James was actually glad for the invitation to dinner. There were problems that came with it, but James also had some faith in the other adults. Surely all of the jokes about himself and Qrow, all of the talk of their adult drama would be put off to the side when the kids were there.

Third, it was going to be James' first dinner with the Xiao Long-Roses where Penny was not also present. James was already expecting to hear some sort of disappointment over the fact that Penny was absent, if only because that was what had been established as the norm thus far. If James had been able to go and get Penny for a dinner, he would have, but he had very serious doubts that Laurel would budge for something impromptu again. The last time James had already changed some of the terms that he was working under.

Four, James liked the Xiao Long-Roses, and he loved Qrow, and oh, how thinking about it in those terms changed it in his mind. He loved Qrow, and that put everything into frame. He was nervous and anxious because as things stood it was going to be all too easy for him to break away from where he already was. He loved Qrow, and so being able to impress Taiyang, Summer, and the children was suddenly so much more important than it could have been otherwise. That made so much sense, James thought to himself. That put everything into frame in a way that made sense.

It was just a matter of sudden pressure when he'd been out of the dating game for a very long time, and thoughts about having dinner with his significant other's family were so distant in the past that James hadn't been sure that he would have been able to ignore them again. The last time that he'd been through this for the first time in a proper relationship, he'd been about to ship off for war and he'd already been engaged.

Yeah, so this was a different situation.

And James had absolutely no idea how he was going to be able to get by with the way that things were going already. Maybe he'd already gone through that weird awkward situation, but he was just now only thinking about it in that way because this was the first time where he was going through this after he and Qrow had started sharing a bed.

James sucked in a shaking breath, and he couldn't help but feel a little bit like he was about to fall apart. He felt like machinery that had managed to shake all of its screws loose and was keeping from him functioning again properly. He pat down his pockets in search of his phone, and when he found it and pulled it out, James found that it had been close to two minutes since he'd decided to disappear into the bathroom.

At the very most, he was going to be able to push one more minute before he drew some sort of suspicion. James didn't like that he was thinking about this in the same sorts of terms that he would if her were on a mission. It could have been much worse, James supposed, but this was just the lot that he was in now. Things had to be handled one thing at a time. That was just how things were.

James breathed, counting down every second in his head until he finally felt like he was working on a solid rhythm that couldn't be broken. His heartbeat was still too fast, and James felt like his hands were going to shake if he dared bring them out of his lap. Hell, they would probably even shake in his lap when he sat there.

But he needed to do something to go out to the others.

Before James turned to leave the bathroom, he looked at himself in the mirror and for just a moment, he saw just a man.

That was as good as it got.

James slipped back out of the bathroom as quietly as he could and was almost immediately greeted by the happy looking Zwei. He reached down and scratched the dog's forehead before walking back to the living room to find that it was empty. He raised and eyebrow and stepped out of the area. A rustling sound from the kitchen told James that he knew where Qrow and Taiyang had gone off to.

It only served to remind James of how every time that he spent in the Xiao Long-Rose kitchen tended to go when he was there with Qrow alone.

James poked his head in, and almost immediately Qrow looked up at him with a wide smile. "Jim," He greeted him. "We decided to start on dinner. Sorry we didn't tell you that we moved."

"It was fine." James said, pushing his hands down into his pockets because that was all that he could do to be able to relax and hide the way that he was feeling. "Do you need any help?"

"I think we're good." Qrow laughed as he looked over at Taiyang, who was taking a moment to slice open a package of chicken breasts. That didn't sound so bad, James thought to himself. "If we need something, how about you just run the errands for us quick?"

"I can do that." James said, smiling softly as he stepped into the kitchen and leaned against one of the counters, well out of the way from where Taiyang was cooking. "Have you heard from-"

"We did!" Taiyang exclaimed, turning to face James just slightly. It was a half-turn at best, but that wasn't a bad thing at all. "She's glad to have you, and so are the girls." He hesitated for a moment. "It sounded like she was also okay with you staying the night if you-"

"That won't be necessary." James said, smiling softly at Taiyang. "Thank you for the offer, though."

"You know we're always happy to have you." Taiyang said with a slight shrug. "I think that with the way that things have been lately..." The man's voice began to change, his tone deepening into sadness that James couldn't even begin to ignore. Raven, of course. It had to be about Raven. "Well, I think that we could all use something more predictable right now."

"Of course." James said, letting his volume drop if only because that was felt like the right thing for him to do for the sake of Qrow and Taiyang. "I know that not having Penny here might be disappointing for the girls."

There was a quiet that fell over the kitchen, and James felt a knot of guilt tying itself tighter and tighter down in his stomach because it could have been much worse. He had brought up yet another awkward, uncomfortable thing that nobody wanted to think about or talk about. It wasn't as though Taiyang didn't know anything about how James' custody arrangement was. He knew more than enough, and in a way that was a comfort in itself.

It meant that James was going to be able to relax.

"It should be fine." Taiyang said, his voice coming to a certain sort of quiet and gentle that James hadn't been expecting. "The girls understand weird families at this point, I think." He paused for a long moment. "The girls do like you, not just Penny."

"I understand." James replied, feeling a little bit better about how things were going. It wasn't enough, but it was something to hold onto and so James was going to cling to it. "I just hope that it's not a problem."

"I don't think it will be." Qrow said, sounding a little bit more comfortable and confident about the situation than anyone else in the room did. "It's fine."

"Right." James said, letting out a heavy sigh. "Thank you."

The conversation was shattered apart by the sound of Zwei barking, and James snapped his head up to look over at the dog. The corgi was running down the hallway towards the front day, and James had to assume that he knew exactly what had happened. Summer, Ruby, and Yang had to be home.

That was only supported with the sound of a door opening and Ruby happily greeting Zwei. He felt himself relax a little bit. He looked back to Taiyang and Qrow and smiled softly. "I think your family is home."

"Yeah." Qrow muttered, his face splitting into a wide grin as he slipped out of the kitchen and into the hallway. "Where are my favorite nieces?"

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby cried, out of James' view.

"I thought we were your only nieces!" Yang called, sounding just as playful as her sister. For some reason, that was enough to make James feel like he was actually able to relax at least a little bit. If Yang was sounding happy and confident, then that was about all that they could hope for.

"I was telling the truth." Qrow laughed. "Jim's in the kitchen, go say hi."

"Is Penny here?" Ruby asked, and James could already hear the sound of them approaching. His stomach turned in his stomach and James couldn't get past it. This was the thing that he didn't want to have to deal with.

"Fraid not, kiddo." Qrow said finally, relaxed. "Hope that's not the worst thing possible."

"Aww." Ruby commented as she and Yang finally made their way into the kitchen.

The girls both looked happy enough, and James smiled down at the both of them because that was all that he could really do for them. "Hello." James said, hoping sincerely that he didn't look too nervous or upset in that moment. "How are you?"

"Fine." Yang said, leaning against a wall. "Mom wanted to bring us shopping for school stuff. It was pretty boring."

"I'm sure it was." James said, smiling softly. Already hearing Yang call Summer 'mom' made him feel just a little bit better. James knew that the problems with regard to Raven definitely weren't his problem on any level, but he still worried. He'd seen how Qrow got when it came to Raven. He worried about the children more than he ever would worry about Qrow. "Hopefully you got something good."

"Are you staying the night?" Yang asked, cocking her head to the side.

And for just that moment, James felt a little bit like he was being interrogated by a ten year old. That was nothing like being greeted at the door by one of Junior or Roman's daughters. This was something else entirely, if only because he knew Yang at least a little bit at that point in his life.

"I'm afraid not." James said, calmly. "I'm staying for dinner, but I have some things that I need to take care of in the morning back in Atlas."

"Oh." Yang said, blinking and relaxing. "Dad?"

James stepped out of the way at that, because that was only the thing that he could really allow for himself to do in order to keep out of the way.

"Yeah, Yang?" Taiyang asked, turning to face the girl while he held his hands away from his chest. "What's up?"

"Do we have cookies?" Yang asked, blinking. "Mom said we could have some when we got home."

"Uh, yeah, one moment-" Taiyang answered as he turned away so that he could wash his hands off.

And just like that, the interrogation was over. James felt like he was able to breathe again. The world span on, and he was only a side effect of all of it. That was all that James really wanted at that point in his life. Normalcy. Calm.

Someday he'd get this with Penny again, James thought. He'd be sure to do the same thing that Taiyang and Summer did- he'd make sure that there were always treats set aside for his daughter because that was what she deserved.

In the morning, James was going to call Ozpin, and they were going to move forward in figuring out this job. The stakes were high. James wanted his daughter back, and he was going to get her back.

The house fell into its normal state. Taiyang cooked while James got corralled into helping Summer to set the dinner table for their family. The girls got their cookies and ran off to play with Qrow. It sounded like he'd gotten bullied into some sort of board game, but James couldn't imagine Qrow being upset by that for even a second. This was Qrow that they were talking about.

Dinner came, and they all sat down and were finally able to relax and breathe. Taiyang's cooking for that night was simple, but it managed to do everything that James wanted. The family talked over dinner, and they all sounded beyond happy to be able to have their conversation.

Normalcy truly was something precious, James thought. He was thinking it even as he made his way to the door to the apartment so that he could start his drive home.

James hadn't expected for Qrow to come and join him there just outside.

"Hey." Qrow said, drawing all attention on him. "You're going to be alright getting back home?"

"I am." James said quietly. "It shouldn't be that bad of a drive, and I don't feel like I need to take anything so..." He paused. "It's about as ideal as it gets."

Qrow relaxed a little bit, if only because there wasn't really anything else that he could go ahead and do at that point. James smiled at him and took a step in towards Qrow, reaching out and taking the other man's hand so that he could pull Qrow in towards him in the hopes of some brief physical contact before it was time for him to leave.

"You'll be fine then?" Qrow mumbled, taking James' hand in his and moving in so that their bodies could meet.

"I will be." James said, keeping his voice down. "I'll call you, okay?"

Qrow smiled and nodded. James watched Qrow's eyes, watched the way that they flickered down on his face. Taking the temptation, James leaned in and pressed his lips against Qrow's, slow and gentle.

The kiss didn't last for long, but when the time finally came for him and Qrow to pull away from each other, James felt his heart jump in his chest. He only managed to smile at Qrow has he finally left for Atlas.

James didn't like the way that his heart ached in his chest at the lingering pressure of Qrow's lips against his own.


	80. Family Matters

Being able to spend time at home had to be one of the most rewarding things in the world, Qrow thought as he stretched out across Taiyang's couch. It was definitely more cramped than James' bed ever would be, even when the two of them shared it, but it was a good place.

The couch was still called his, even though he didn't technically live on it anymore. Qrow cherished that fact, because it felt like a reminder that he belonged there with his family. Sometimes it felt like he needed that reminder much more than he'd realized.

Sleep had seemingly hit Qrow like a freight train, and now Qrow found himself waking up far too early in the morning. The reason for it was fairly obvious- James was an early riser and that was something that had only rubbed off on him. It left Qrow feeling awkward because he couldn't think of anything to do with himself when he would be the only one up for a few hours.

There were some fairly weird implications to that, and Qrow didn't think that he actually wanted to spend any time dwelling on it at all. Time away from James definitely had to be a good thing, all things considered. Maybe soon he would be able to start feeling like himself again and he'd be able to start sleeping as much as he wanted to normally.

Qrow forced himself upright and reached over for his phone so that he could check for any messages. With everything that had been going on lately, there were all too many opportunities for things to go wrong and he could find himself getting weird messages pushed his way constantly. But there were none, aside from a text from James that had been a simple goodnight.

James was definitely up, Qrow knew. Because of that, he sent a quick good morning to James before going back to his messages. Qrow didn't have to spend any of his time there that morning, but he needed to find something to do that morning. It could have all gone completely wrong that day.

His phone buzzed, and Qrow felt his heart jump in his chest. The message wasn't from James though, instead it was from an indistinct number that Qrow hadn't seen before.

Already, he knew what that meant.

He picked the call up, leaned back into his couch, and let his eyes slip shut.

"Hey, Raven." He mumbled, keeping his voice down because that way the others wouldn't get woken up. When it came to Taiyang and Summer it didn't matter at all whether or not he was talking too loud. No, the one that Qrow was the most worried about when it came to him talking to and being in contact with Raven was Yang and Yang alone.

Taiyang and Summer had control over the situation that Yang didn't, and Qrow refused to let her get hurt.

"Qrow." She greeted him, and Qrow couldn't help but think that she sounded absolutely exhausted. There had to be something wrong. Deep down, Qrow was at least somewhat aware of the possibility that Raven was calling now because she was just getting home after a long night. "I wanted to talk to you."

"I wanted to talk to you too." Qrow said quietly, shifting so that he could lie on his side and make himself more comfortable that way. "I hear you haven't been talking to anyone else though."

"That's… true." Raven sighed, and Qrow felt his heart beat a little harder and clench all too uncomfortably. "It's just been..."

"I know." Qrow whispered. He had absolutely no idea what was going to make it worse than it already was, but there had to be a reason that Raven was calling him now. Maybe she needed money to help take care of her apartment again and he was her go to. Of course, that was a situation where Qrow had more or less brought that situation upon himself because of the number of times that he'd decided to step in and try to help Raven out when he could. "What's going on?"

"I'm worried." Raven said, her voice too quiet to belong on Qrow's sister. That was one of those things that Qrow wasn't going to be able get around. "I wanted to be able to talk to you so that I could figure some things out. Preferably in person if it's possible."

Qrow grimaced. "I'm actually in Vale right now, Rae." He said, keeping his voice as calm as he could possibly manage. This was only going to get worse, Qrow was already sure of it. "If you want to talk it'll have to be like this, unless you want to drive out to Vale and deal with everything here."

She groaned, and Qrow couldn't help but think that his sister sounded so thoroughly annoyed that he was already expecting for her to take the chance to punch through the space between the two of them so that she could get to him and wring his neck. If he was really unlucky, then Qrow figured that Raven would be going out to her bike so that she could drive out to Vale and do it all in person.

Really, none of it was ideal.

"What's really going on?" Qrow asked, because all that he could really do at that point was push her along and see whether or not it was going to be enough to start netting some results and push their conversation along. "Because I can't think of anything going on in particular-"

"It's complicated." Raven said finally. "Junior's insisting that I need to take the week off for some reason." She paused for a long moment, and Qrow could hear the sound of her drinking something. "Something about wanting to get someone in to come in and really clean the bar thoroughly. We're talking shampooing carpets and shit. Maybe installing new booths."

"Wow." Qrow deadpanned, feeling a little bit surprised by that development but also not knowing how he was supposed to react to it at all. The reality was that the explanation was so perfectly mundane that it could have been applying to just about anything. Regardless of that, Qrow didn't want to find himself in an awkward position that could make things worse. "Getting a week off because your boss wants to clean out the building. What terrible news."

"It's not that bad." Raven breathed out finally, sounding agitated at the very least. "I just don't know what I'm supposed to do with myself at this point. I was hoping that I'd be able to get you for pizza sometime, but I was also figuring that you were going to be dicking around with your boyfriend or something."

"He's-" Qrow stopped himself, realizing what he was about to do. They weren't at a point where it made any sense to keep on denying that he and James had anything together. "That's not the point." Qrow finally muttered. "I would have been up for it if I was still out in Atlas, but since I'm in Vale I can't really just drop everything and go out anymore."

"What happened to your car anyways?" Raven asked, her voice sounding too far away. "I can't imagine you having real problems with this sort of thing knowing what you're doing.

"Crashed it." Qrow muttered. "Had my license suspended for a few months. It wasn't worth paying to get it fixed. You know how it is."

"Yeah," Raven replied with a sound that almost sounded like she had decided to go ahead and laugh a little bit. "I do, don't I?"

"Yeah." Qrow mumbled. "If you don't mind coming here, I'd be happy to spend time."

"Do you think that you'd invite Tai and Summer?"

"I dunno.' Qrow replied. "It would depend on what we're up to, I guess." He paused, because he couldn't think of anything else that he could do. "Why?"

"I just don't know what I'm doing." Raven admitted, her voice much softer than Qrow would have expected to hear from his sister. "I feel like I can't figure out what I'm supposed to do here and it's just..."

"I get it." Qrow said, deciding to keep his voice down and let himself get quieter as well. It was just for the best if he was gentle with her fo the time being. "We haven't really talked about it that much here."

"Really?" Raven asked, her voice tinted with disbelief. "I would have figured that they would have wanted to tell you everything."

"Yeah," Qrow agreed. If it wasn't for the fact that he'd arrived the night before, he was sure that Summer and Taiyang would have tried to tug him aside to report on what was going on with regard to Yang. James staying for dinner, then the want for him to spend time with Ruby and Yang hadn't opened up much time for him to talk to Summer and Tai about much of anything.

Raven sighed, and Qrow could hear her getting up and moving around on the other side of the room. He couldn't help but wonder where she was. Wherever she was, it was quiet. Qrow was able to assume that Raven was at her apartment, but the fact that she'd decided to call him so early in the day told him that it was all in question. The right thing would have been to go ahead and ask, but Qrow couldn't help but think that wouldn't do anything to help with the situation at hand.

"Raven?" Qrow asked, because it seemed like she wasn't going to go ahead and say anything at this point. "What do you want?"

"I don't know yet." Raven admitted, her voice all too hard. "Would you be mad if I drove up there to see you later?"

"Maybe." It wasn't the best thing that Qrow could have said, but it was all that he really could. There were just too many ways that Raven could end up putting him in an extremely awkward place with regard to their family. "If you come up here, I'm not going to hide it from Tai and Summer anymore."

Raven was silent for too long. Qrow was able to imagine his sister all too easily, sitting there on the other end of the call waiting for something to be said or to come up that would change things. Qrow doubted that anything would come up, and so he decided to wait it out. Raven would be able to figure her things out eventually, Qrow just had absolutely no idea as to what she needed from him.

"Okay."

The word came out so quietly, in such a low whisper that Qrow almost had to strain himself to be able to hear her voice. But the message registered in his mind all the same, and Qrow didn't want to make things worse.

"Alright." He replied. "You can meet me for pizza later. Don't expect for me to be alone."

"I won't."

"Good." Qrow said, picking his head up so that he could look around the room and get a view of the clock on the wall. It was still going to be a while before anyone got up that morning. "I'll text you with details, okay?"

"Yeah, sure." Raven said, that bitterness that was always on her voice coming up once again all too quickly. "I'll see you soon."

"Of course." Qrow stretched across the couch. "Sounds good."

With that, Qrow hanged the call up and let his arm flop down beside him, the phone still clutched in his hand. Already Qrow wasn't sure that it was going to be difficult getting the others involved with what needed to happen later on that day. If anything, the kids were probably going to be more than happy to go out for pizza.

Once the cat got out of the bag that it was because Raven and Qrow wanted to see each other, then Qrow didn't know what to expect at all. It was going to be impossible to get past the fact that the situation inevitably put them all in an awkward place. Yang was a factor that couldn't be ignored, and that was something that Qrow knew Raven was fully aware of.

Summer and Taiyang were also well aware of it.

But for now, dwelling on something that was going to come later on in the day didn't do anything. Qrow got up and padded into the kitchen so that he could get something to drink and was quickly met by Zwei, who stared up at him expectantly with his head cocked to the side.

Qrow didn't need to say anything, he just grabbed Zwei's leash and the dog trotted to the door after him. The two went outside, and they were able to take a walk around the neighborhood to make sure that Zwei was feeling well taken care of. By the time that Qrow and Zwei began on the way back to the house, the sun was beginning to peek its way up over the buildings and trees.

Whether or not anyone was going to be up by the time that the two of them got to the house was something that Qrow didn't know. He was expecting for them to all still be asleep, and so he decided to take his sweet time as he and Zwei walked back to the house.

When they got there, the dog was first to go in, with Qrow coming in after.

Surprisingly, he was met with the sight of Summer sitting on the couch, looking tired and looking something over on her phone.

"Hey." Qrow greeted the woman before flopping down onto the couch next to her with a yawn. "Dog's been walked."

"Thanks." Summer replied, her voice all too soft and gentle. "Sleep okay?"

"I'm fine." Qrow said, quietly. "Just used to getting up earlier than you guys these days, I guess."

"That's good." Summer answered. She stared down at her phone and shook her head before setting it down on the coffee table. "Are you making breakfast this morning?"

"I dunno." Qrow shrugged. "I can't say that I've really been thinking about it all that much. I figure that you guys probably want for me to make something, but..."

Summer laughed, and the sound was surprisingly welcome to Qrow's ears, if only because he felt a little less awkward. It was almost enough to make him forget that he'd spent part of his day talking to Raven already, and the fact that he was annoyed and tired and didn't really know how he wanted to spend the majority of his time.

"Well," Summer said calmly. "As nice as it would be to be able to have something for breakfast, trust me when I say that there's no pressure to make anything."

Qrow felt like he was able to relax finally. He slumped back into the couch comfortably and made himself comfortably as he closed his eyes. "Thanks for the encouragement." He said calmly. "I'll be sure to keep it in mind for the future."

"Oh, we'll be sure to make sure that you get to make up for lost time." Summer said, nudging him gently for a moment before relaxing again. "So I heard you on the phone."

"You did?" Qrow asked, since he'd been hoping that he was going to be able to talk about everything that had gone on that day. It wasn't a good thing, but it was about all that they could hope for. "Because-"

"I did." Summer replied. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine." Qrow said with a heavy sigh. "I wish that I could have given you better ways to deal with all of it." He said calmly. "She wants to see me." Qrow explained, because that was really about all that he could actually give for an explanation. "And she agreed that if I invited you and Tai, she wouldn't run."

Summer paused and looked over at him, her silver eyes calm. "You think she'll stick by that?"

"I don't know." Qrow replied. "You know how this tends to go. She says things, if she feels like following up on them, then she will."

"I guess then we're just going to have to wait and see how things play out, then?"

"Yup." Qrow said calmly, letting the quiet linger between the two of them for a little longer than it needed to. "Was Tai still asleep when you got up?"

"Yeah." Summer replied. "You know how he is. Sleeps like a rock."

Qrow laughed, if only because that was something that he could hold onto and think about as much as he ever had. "That's a good thing." He said quietly. "I'd just rather be able to break it to him the nice way instead of letting him overhear me talking to my sister when I'm on the phone."

Summer nodded calmly and reached out, gently patting Qrow's knee. "C'mon." She said, getting up and stretching. "I think that you can be used in the kitchen, regardless of whether or not you're going to be doing the bulk of the work."

Not ideal, but it was really all that Qrow could do.

"Got it." He said calmly. With a huff Qrow forced himself up to his feet and forced himself to follow after Summer to the kitchen where the two of them were able to get to work on making something for the family to eat.  
Qrow was glad for the quiet while they worked. He was certain that all of the awkward stuff was going to come up later and when that happened the group would be in an awkward situation.

The girls got up, the family had their meal, and at some point Qrow was able to spirit Taiyang away so that the two of them were able to talk about the phone call with Raven. Taiyang had seemed a little bit surprised by the fact that there had been a call, but Qrow didn't think that was such a bad thing. The two of them talked for a few moments, and then the pair of them were on the way to talk to Yang about everything.

Yang didn't seem happy about the revelation. Qrow couldn't really blame the kid for it. Seeing Raven was hard for all of them, but for Yang there was specific extra baggage that made things more difficult for them all to deal with.

But the kid ultimately agreed that she'd go with them.

That left Qrow with one thing to do, and it was easy enough. A quick phone call that Raven thankfully picked up for later, and they had dinner plans for that evening.

After that, Qrow dedicated most of his day to just enjoying himself. Part of what that meant was lying on the couch and napping with Zwei while Ruby and Yang watched a movie. The time came that they could leave, and then they left.

When they arrived at the pizza parlor that Qrow and Raven had agreed on, she wasn't there yet. Qrow sincerely wished that he would have been surprised by that fact, but this was Raven that he was thinking about.

Yang and Ruby both squished themselves in against his sides at the booth table that the family had taken. Qrow couldn't help but smile and let himself relax. It was going to be a little while before they were going to be able to do anything, but for now they could relax.

Across from him, Summer and Taiyang were both looking all too nervous about everything that was going on. Qrow couldn't blame them for it.

Silently and secretly, he was wishing that James was also there to help him. James was good for moral support.

But, he wasn't there.

The family had been talking about the football game that was playing on the TV when the door to the parlor had opened. Qrow picked his head up and watched as Raven stepped in. She looked tired, Qrow thought. He wouldn't have been surprised to learn that Raven was coming off of a 14 hour shift at that point.

"Hey." Qrow greeted her, watching his sister with a bored expression if only because that was all that he could do. "Glad to see you made it."

"Good seeing you too, brother." Raven said, flopping into the seat next to Taiyang because it was the only space available to her. "Drive over was hell."

Qrow grit his teeth and tried not to say anything over the fact that Raven hadn't greeted anyone just yet.

"Sorry to hear that." Qrow said, leaning back in his seat.

Finally, Raven looked at Taiyang and Summer, then the girls. "Hello." She said calmly. "Qrow said that he'd be bringing you."

"Hey, Raven." Taiyang said, his voice stiff and his tone more awkward than it normally was. "Good seeing you again."

"Yeah," Raven answered, her tone so stiff and bored that Qrow almost wanted to lash out and smack her for it. "I guess it is."

There was an awkward quiet that settled over their table. There was the sensation of Yang squirming around at his side, and Qrow couldn't help but feel annoyed by all of it. Not because of Yang, but because they were in a situation where Raven should have been trying to do better for their sake.

But she wasn't. Instead, she was all but purposely making people more frustrated and making things more and more awkward.

Someone was going to have to break through the quiet though, and so Qrow locked eyes with his sister across the table.

"So," he asked, keeping his voice down and relaxing. "Why'd you want to talk."

"I'm moving." Raven announced, and the words came so suddenly that Qrow couldn't help but feel a little bit surprised by all of it. There had to be some sort of good reason for all of it, but Qrow wanted to snap already. "Wanted to tell you."

"Are you?" Qrow asked, raising an eyebrow. "How're you paying for that."

"I have a job." Raven replied calmly. "I'm moving from Atlas to Vale."

"Oh." Qrow said, blinking and looking at Summer and Taiyang as he looked for some sort of reaction from the two of them. Taiyang's blue eyes had widened a little bit over all of it, and Summer had perked up while also managing to look completely frustrated. "What brought that on?"

"Greywater wasn't doing it for me." Raven said calmly. "And working for Junior only goes so far."

"So you're leaving your job to move." Qrow said, feeling all too aware of everything that was going on. There had to be a serious catch to all of this, and Qrow couldn't help but wonder whether or not he had inadvertently managed to fund Raven's move. "Any reason?"

Raven paused, and Qrow watched the way that her expression fell. There was something wrong, Qrow thought to himself. "Yes." Raven said finally, not letting herself look at either of the kids or up at Taiyang or Summer at the same time. "I think there's just more for me here in Vale."

"Got it." Qrow said. He could read between his sister's words easy enough. "Good luck."

"Ugh, they're doing that thing again." Summer said, pursing her lips and groaning in annoyance. "I hate the twin thing."

"Me too." Taiyang said, leaning back in his seat. "What's going on?"

"I told you." Raven growled. "I'm moving to Vale because I think there's more for me here."

It was all too obvious that Raven had something else going on, and Qrow figured that the best thing that he could do was hang back and let her do her thing. There was a quiet voice at the back of Qrow's mind that told him that it was for the best to let Raven do her things because it meant that the others would be ignoring what he was doing.

If Taiyang, Summer, Raven, and the kids were all distracted away from him, then it meant that Qrow was going to be able to do his job with a little bit less to worry about for the time being.

Raven was staring down at the table now, and Qrow forced himself to relax as much as he possibly could.

As far as Qrow could tell, she was feeling just as nervous about the fact that they were spending time with family as Qrow was. But he wasn't the one that was coming out of the woodwork to announce to everyone that he was moving close to the family. No, that was something that Raven had decided to bring onto herself.

And despite it all, Qrow didn't actually know how he felt about it. Maybe a year ago he would have felt much better, he would have been relieved to know that Raven was doing something to reach out for her family and become more of a part of it.

But now, sitting there at the table where Raven was barely paying attention to anyone that wasn't him, Qrow didn't know how to feel. Somehow it all managed to come off as an empty gesture on Raven's part.

"If you think it'll make you happy-" Qrow sighed, shrugging in his seat and shifting so that he could rest one arm on the booth behind him. "Then I don't see why not to go for it."

Raven and him stared at each other. Their eyes locked, and Qrow searched Raven's eyes for anything that could tell him what was going on in his sister's head, but nothing was there. Nothing came up that was of any use.

Once he would have been able to read his sister's actions much easier than he was these days.

"I don't know that it will." Raven admitted, shrugging. Her burning red eyes flicked over to Taiyang, who was sitting at her side for just a second before focusing back in on Qrow. "But I'm going to have to find out either way."

"Well..." Taiyang spoke up, all too calm despite the fact that Qrow could see the nervousness practically radiating off of every part of his body. Taiyang was frustrated, and Qrow was already expecting that he was going to be put in a situation later on where he was supposed to address Taiyang directly. When that happened, he was expecting that he was going to end up as some sort of emotional sponge for his friend.

But Taiyang was there, and he was forcing on a smile and his cheeriness the same way that he always would. He leaned forward in his seat and stretched just slightly.

"What is it?" Raven asked, turning her head just slightly so that she could make eye contact with Taiyang.

Taiyang seemed to freeze up a little bit, but he didn't seem to lose his nerve at all. "I was just going to say that if you're going to move out here and you think that you need help, we can help you out."

"You're certain?" Raven asked, raising an eyebrow.

Qrow was suddenly very thankful that the others didn't seem to be paying him the most attention anymore.

"Yeah." Taiyang said with a shrug. "We could say its making up for years of absence or whatever."

That was wrong, Qrow thought to himself. He knew how things had been- Raven would pay her child support and she'd do nothing else. But for Taiyang to be the one reaching out and offering help like he was in the wrong...

That was wrong. No matter how he cut it, Qrow couldn't see any way that it wasn't wrong.

Raven leaned in towards Taiyang, shifting and twisting her body just so in a way that she was able to lean in towards the blonde man just slightly. "I'll take it." She said calmly. "I still haven't figured out where I'm going to be, but-"

"We'll help you out!" Taiyang exclaimed, and he managed to sound impossibly nervous and scared by the whole thing. There was an excitement there of some sort, and Qrow didn't know whether that was a good thing or not.

Somehow, after close to a decade of being completely absent, Taiyang still seemed like he was in love with Raven.

Qrow didn't know how. He didn't even know that he fully believed it, but that seemed to be the situation that he was in. And he was going to do his best to support Taiyang when things got bad, if only because that was where his loyalties were better kept.

No matter what, no matter how close he and Raven were, Qrow knew what was for the better. She had left her family, and that had included him. Taiyang had been the one to offer him a warm place to sleep and a roof over his head when he'd needed it. When he'd lost his license, it had been Taiyang that had stood up and taken his place to be there for him.

And Qrow wasn't going to let himself do anything to turn his back on his friend now that he knew how things were.

If it came down to a situation where he had to choose, Qrow knew where he was going to turn and to whom his loyalties lie.


	81. Custody Battle

Being alone in Atlas was something that James had spent a lot of time trying to get past. He was tired, and he was sure that he wasn't going to be able to relax all that much. Not when he had work to do, or things that were potentially _very_ bad were looming in his future. Not when he couldn't trust that his home was actually going to be secure when he went to bed at night.

James threw himself almost entirely into his work to try and distract himself away from it all. For that reason James was doing his best to pile his things into his his car so that he could drive back out to the warehouse.

As of that morning, James had plans to meet with Ozpin and they were finally start getting their act together so that they would be able to move forward.

As things stood, it seemed that they'd figured out everything they ever could have needed to know for the actual job itself. Now they were down to a waiting game that wasn't going to be able to pass by without just sitting and waiting. The job would come, and then whatever happened next was going to be a big question.

This morning was very specifically about the two of them meeting to talk about the possibility of getting Penny back for James.

The drive across Vale was one that had James nervous, if only because he didn't know the rest of the day was going to end up looking like. He didn't know what sort of information Ozpin was going to pass along to him, or whether or not they were even going to actually meet.

There were too many things that could go wrong, and James was all too aware of it. If this went poorly, or they got found out, or the job just went poorly, then James was sure that they were going to be caught in a situation where he only managed to get pushed further and further away from getting custody over his daughter.

Unwilling to dwell on the issue for the moment, James pushed it far from his mind and did nothing more than drive across the city. He turned on the radio to drown things out, and luckily that was all that was needed.

When he arrived at the warehouse, James was glad to see that Ozpin was already there and sitting on the hood of one of the cars. Once again, James had absolutely no idea how they had managed to get there, and _that_ nagged in the back of his mind. Someday James was going to figure things out about how they got by.

But Ozpin picked their head up when they heard the sound of James' car arrive.

James gave a slight wave as he parked the car and climbed out of the car. Ozpin didn't budge away from their spot, and James was glad for that. It made him feel a little bit more like he was the one in control over the situation.

"Ozpin." James greeted them.

"James." Ozpin replied calmly, sitting up and setting their phone down on the car beside them. "I do hope that the drive wasn't too much of a problem?"

"It was fine." James replied calmly. "Nothing of interest happened, at the very least."

"Good." Ozpin replied calmly. "I was working on making contact with some of the people that we are going to need to work with."

"Good." James answered, letting himself take a position in the warehouse. He became very aware of the fact that he didn't have a place to sit down, but that wasn't such a big deal. Unless his pain was going to start flaring up, James knew that he was going to be fine. "I do hope that this isn't such a problem?"

"It isn't." Ozpin said quietly, but they didn't look up at James. It was exactly what James didn't want to have happen, but for the time being he was going to let things go. "Though I'm sure that you are aware of how much is riding on the completion of this job."

"I am aware." James sighed, reaching up to brush his hair out of his face. "But I'm glad that you're willing to begin with the process now anyways."

"Of course." Ozpin smiled across at James. "But I must ask, have you spoken to the girl's mother about this?"

That was one of those questions that James didn't have a good answer for. The truth was that he hadn't done anything to reach out to Laurel to try and make things better. He closed his eyes and let out a quiet sigh. "I haven't." He said quietly. "Laurel and I aren't exactly on the best terms, and I don't expect that she'll react well to this regardless of this situation. I just want my daughter back."

"I can assure you that I have no doubts about that." Ozpin said, still smiling that same slight smile that James could only find mischief in. "Although I do need to know that this won't be a distraction, James."

James was taken aback, if only because there were certain barbs in Ozpin's words that he hadn't been expecting to be on the receiving end of. He supposed that there was some good reason for Ozpin to have their doubts about him, but it still felt like it was at least a little bit personal.

But he didn't dare let his frustration or offense show. No, James knew much better than that, and so when he gave his response, he didn't let a single thing show for Ozpin. It was just much safer if he went through things in that way.

"This won't be a distraction." James muttered, holding his head up high and letting his chin tilt up just a little bit as he placed a little bit more height over Ozpin. It was a method of gaining dominance that had never managed to be of much use, but James was going to carry on with it anyways. "So long as I can trust that you mean to help me."

Ozpin watched him, staring him down from behind their too-small glasses with deep interest flickering across their expression. "You know that I have not come to you with false pretenses, James."

James swallowed hard, and he had to wonder for just that moment whether or not he felt such confidence in Ozpin's words. There were still so may things that he didn't trust in, and Ozpin was tied to all of them. "I do." He said finally, forcing his calm. "Is there anything that you can tell me about how this will work."

There was an uncomfortable wait, and James found himself sitting there with no choice but to watch as Ozpin reached for their phone and began to read something off of the tiny screen. Stabbing anger wormed its way under James' skin, but James only allowed himself a slight frown as a response.

"I do know that you and I are both rather clear when it comes to how this job will go." They finally spoke, their voice too calm and far too quiet for James' liking. "Once it has been finished off, I will place you in direct contact with a lawyer that will be glad to help you with your case."

"What else?" James asked, his voice in a deadpan. "Because if I'm doing this for the sake of you making a phone call, I'm unsure that I want continued involvement with this job."

"You can place your trust in me for this, James." Ozpin said calmly, with a certain amount of calm that was almost infuriating. "I intend on making sure that you will be able to follow your way through everything that comes your way."

"Will you?" James asked, his voice falling into a characteristic deadpan.

Ozpin nodded and set their phone back down, relaxing slightly and letting themself stand up and take a few steps away from the car that they had previously chosen to sit on. "I will."

James watched them, taking a half-step back so that he could go ahead and maintain some additional space between Ozpin and himself. He didn't think that it was going to do him any good, but for the time being it was what James needed, and so he was happy to follow through with the action.

Besides, James thought, Ozpin was a _very_ dangerous person. They were the type that would take absolutely no hesitation in getting the way of something or forcing their way into a situation for the sake of placing someone else in a worse position somehow.

James needed space. He needed to be able to be away from Ozpin. He needed a thousand things, and he didn't think that he was actually going to be able to take part in any of them.

There was something about the situation that made James feel like he was merely making an effort to _survive._ Once he was sure that he had managed to survive this, then everything could come after.

And _that_ wasn't a good feeling to have at all.

He hesitated and let his head drop, glancing down so that he could stare down at the floor. There needed to be something there, there needed to be something to act as a comfort. "I need to know what you will do for me."

"Contacts, for one." Ozpin said, relaxing slightly. "If you think that you would like for me to aid you with regards to finances, then I will be glad to help you in that matter."

That was definitely very interesting, and James didn't know how he felt about it. James had been spending so much of his time selling his soul for the sake of Ozpin and their organization, having money and wealth dangled in front of his face over and over again. Somehow the possibility that Ozpin would want to reach out for him financially was something that had simply never occured to James.

Mostly, the idea seemed entirely too far outside of how Ozpin worked and their preferred modes of operation.

"Money." James stated the word with such coldness that he was almost taken aback by it. There really wasn't all that much else that he could say about the topic. Mostly he wasn't sure of how he was supposed to read into what Ozpin had just said. There were so many possibilities for things to fall apart.

And Ozpin had always worked within the realm of them getting involved to get them money. That wasn't to say that James had never seen a payout for the work that he'd done, but still he wasn't sure. There was so much about the situation that felt absolutely wrong.

"Yes." Ozpin reiterated. "I know that the legal process can be expensive to go through, although-" They paused, raising an eyebrow and giving James a rather direct and pointed look. "How long do you think that your ex would be able to maintain herself in the courts?"

James felt his heart stop, realizing fully well what Ozpin was suggesting. They were talking about, in rather plain terms, the possibility that they went ahead ahead and drew the process out for so long that there was absolutely no way that James could lose. It was shady, and James was sure that it would manage to raise questions about his own financial situation that would be very hard to explain.

And because of that, James felt like he was stuck in a position where he had to choose between being a good person- something that James knew wasn't really all that possible anymore, and going ahead and doing the cruel thing and dragging the process out. He could absolutely go ahead and drag the legal process out for as long as he needed to, but James wasn't sure about how he felt about doing that.

Laurel didn't deserve that. Regardless of everything that they'd been through, James didn't want to hurt her any more than he had to. Regardless of how much he had been hurt over the course of the years. James needed to know that she would still have a life after it all.

"I don't want to think about it." James said calmly, keeping his voice as calm as he could. He let himself cross his arms over his chest, almost like he was hugging himself even though it didn't do anything to help him relax at all. The situation was a mess, and James was aware of that. "If we can, I want for the process to go by in as civil a manner as possible. We have some things on my side-"

"But of course." Ozpin replied, their tone going too dry all at once. "Could you explain?"

"I had the main custody over Penny before..." James blinked and felt the uncomfortable clench of something in his chest. He didn't like having to think about everything that he'd been through over the course of the last year and a half or so. He'd lost Penny because he'd managed to get his tires shot out (something that his mind was still having exceptional amounts of difficulty remembering) and because he'd ended up with his car as a fireball.

If it hadn't been for all of that, for _Ozpin_ , James was sure that he would have been able to live his life normally. He'd still have Penny in his custody, and his life would be much, much easier. He wouldn't have to worry about Ozpin's interactions with him all that much.

"Before." James finally finished, letting his jaw set and refusing to let anything else show. He didn't gesture towards his injured side, merely plowed on. "I didn't have much difficulty getting custody the first time around. Really, Laurel had been rather... willing to hand it over, but things have changed since then." He shook his head, thinking back to the time years before when Penny had still been a very young child. Back then she was so young that the custody battle that had occurred had gone completely over her head. "If this holds to be anything like it was before, I don't expect that much that will go wrong."

"But it's for the best that you prepare yourself for the worst." Ozpin said, smiling just slightly as they stared James down. "I'm sure that's something that you're well aware of after so many years doing the things that you do."

"I do." James sighed. "I'm just hoping that we won't have to go that far to make sure that this will work out."

"Of course." Ozpin murmured, taking a step or two to get in close to James and place just the slightest amount of distance between the two of them. James wanted to keep the distance between the two of them, if only because he didn't trust what would happen if he allowed for Ozpin to get that close to him. Ozpin had a direct line to his heart and was able to leave him feeling twisted and wrong.

Just another way of manipulation, James recognized. And there had to be something else that Ozpin wanted to say that they weren't bothering to bring up. There had to be more to it than what James was seeing in that moment alone. "It'll rely on this job, of course." James said, if only because he felt like that was what Ozpin was trying to bait him into saying. "I'm aware of that."

"Do you have confidence in our men?" Ozpin asked, staring James down. "Because you know just as well as I do that this job is going to rely on them the same way that you always have."

"I have faith in them." James murmured, and for just a moment James couldn't help but wonder how much he believed what he was saying. There were so many ways that things could go wrong, so many turns and twists and possibilities. If it wasn't going to be about someone getting killed it was going to be about someone getting arrested.

And on the off chance that they did get out of this alive, then James was sure that they were going to part ways forever. He certainly had no interests in sticking by the group if things were going to be dangerous. Space between himself and the others was going to be good once he was on the outside. Whether or not someone was going to come to him looking for his help in the future was something that James couldn't be confident on, but the distance was needed.

Ozpin smiled and somehow managed to come off as encouraging, and that was really all that James could look forward to and hold on to. "Faith may be all that we can have, I believe."

"They're capable." James said, turning so that he could face his companion a little bit better. "You know that just as well as I do. PUtting any doubt in them now when we're so close to the-"

"Do you doubt them, James?" Ozpin asked, cutting him off and managing to leave James feeling a little bit like he'd been shot. It was too sudden, too unexpected, and it just left james unsure of how to respond. Why would Ozpin ask him that after he had just talked about having faith in their group?

"No." James said, his voice hardening as he forced himself to stare past Ozpin, if only because that was going to be all that he could do to make this work for himself. "I don't doubt them."

"Do you doubt yourself?"

And really, that was the question that James never wanted to be asked about his work. It was too loaded, there was too much that James didn't want to bring up and put out in the open and really, he had no idea how to respond to it.

The truth was a terrible, painful thing. If he told the truth then he was going to put himself in a deeply precarious position that had no true good ending about it. What was James supposed to think or do? Was he supposed to just slide forward and deny it when it was so obviously far from the truth?

He didn't know. And so instead of answering at first, James took in a deep breath in a weak attempt to calm himself down, if only because he couldn't think of anything else that he was supposed to do at that point.

"I don't know."

"Really?" Ozpin asked. "After everything that you've been through, you don't know whether or not you have doubts in your abilities?"

"No." James answered, feeling weak and unsure of himself when the question was asked. He didn't like that feeling, that vulnerability. It was one thing to feel like that when he was with Qrow alone, or with his actual friends.

But with Ozpin? James didn't know how he felt when it came to Ozpin. Things were too dangerous on the whole, and sensitive topics like the one that they had just brought up were ones that he didn't have any truly graceful way of tackling. What was he supposed to say?

Instead of saying anything to him, Ozpin just grimaced and stood up a little bit taller before speaking up again. "Do you think that there is something that could make you doubt yourself less, James?" They asked, like they had somehow become a therapist all at once. Like they were trying to burrow their way under James' skin and make themselves at home there because if they did it was just one more way that they could have control over James.

James took a deep breath and squeezed his eyes shut, doing his best to deny the answer that immediately forced its way to the forefront in his mind because to tell the truth was actually going too far.

Because really? James knew exactly what it would take to make himself doubt his skills and his capabilities less. It was something that was impossible to regain, even after the medical treatments and the prosthetics. Pills, therapy, robotic limbs- none of it was going to ever be enough to make him feel like he was okay again.

That was truly one horizon that James had managed to completely pass by. There was nothing about it that was good or graceful, it was just the way that things had gone. There was really no better way to even begin to address it.

"No." James said finally, and he knew that when he said the word it came out more broken and quiet than it ever should have. He was only digging himself into a hole, and James really didn't like that fact.

But what other choice did he have?

"That's a shame." Ozpin commented, quietly. "I hope that you will be able to get your strength back about you before this job. You and I both know fully well just how severe the stakes are, and I have serious doubts that you would want to let this pass you by because of something..." Their voice trailed off, thoughtful. "Intangible."

James nodded slowly, unsure of what else there was that he could go ahead and do or say. Ozpin had torn their way down to the heart of an issue that James didn't like to have to acknowledge. What else was there to say?

"I'll do my best." James finally mumbled, though the words managed to feel close to foreign on his tongue. "I have no intentions of letting you or my daughter down."

Ozpin smiled their sly smile. "I have no illusions that you are doing this for me, James. I just hope that your heart proves to be in the right place for this."

"It is." James said quietly, though there was a quiet part of him that didn't believe it. "Just… trust me."

"I have to ask that you do me the same courtesy."

James grimaced, unsure of what he was supposed to Ozpin other than just confirm that he was going to put his trust in them. It was no surprise to anyone that the two of them weren't on good terms. James didn't trust Ozpin, and he was sure that Ozpin barely trusted him.

But that was just how things had been going, and James was afraid of what was going to happen once Ozpin figured out that he was lying.

Deep down, James supposed that it wasn't worth it to try and find out.

So James steeled himself, looked back at Ozpin, and held his head high because he had nothing else that he could think of to do. "I trust you."

They smiled slightly, and stepped forward, reaching out to clap James on the shoulder with an open hand. "I look forward to working together with you, James." They said, their voice quiet but some sort of amusement peeking through their tone with no trouble at all. "Should I expect to see you this Friday for a meeting?"

James wracked his mind, trying to figure out what was going on. There had to be something that was going on, and James was pretty sure that he knew exactly what the topic was. The two of them had partially met so that the two of them could discuss James' custody over Penny.

"No." James said, turning to face Ozpin. "I'll have my daughter for the weekend, and I don't exactly want to be working if that's going to be the case."

"Of course." Ozpin said, smiling softly. "Monday night then," The said, their voice much more gentle than the situation ever should have allowed. "I'll be seeing you, James."

"Right." James mumbled, taking the first few steps back towards his car so that he could leave the second that it first became necessary for him to do so. "I'll be seeing you there."

And with that, James got into his car before Ozpin could get another word in edgewise. He didn't let himself pay too much attention to Ozpin's presence, put his car into reverse, and left the warehouse behind as he sped across the city so that he could work on continuing to fill in any loose ends.

He called Qrow that night to make sure that the message was relayed, and James was somewhat comforted when the two of them talked until one of them was tired enough for sleep.


	82. True Friend

Spending a single day at the Xiao Long-Rose house was a gift in itself, but Qrow was now finding himself in a position where he was able to spend as much time as he wanted in the house and it was just _nice_. There was so little that he had to worry about besides keeping on top of work (which really just amounted to calling James every night or so,) and getting to spend time with his family was a relief in itself.

Especially when things were hard, and Raven was working on drifting closer and closer back to them with every day. It wasn't that it wasn't work, but Qrow needed to be there for all of them.

As long as he was in Vale, he was able to be there for Yang, and even for Ruby when it became necessary that someone was there to help her out or watch her. Summer and Taiyang were happy to spend their nights with him once the kids had gone to bed, and even being able to walk Zwei first thing in the morning was nice.

Once in awhile he would find himself missing Atlas. He'd miss the width of James' bed and the comforting heat of James at his back, or he'd miss the good takeout places that he and James always seemed to end up calling.

Really, there were a lot of things to miss about Atlas, but when he was with his family, Qrow found that it was actually just very comforting to be able to relax and kick back for a bit. It only took a few days before he'd managed to break out of James' sleep schedule, and Qrow was sure that was something that he was going to end up regretting in the long run but he also didn't particularly care.

And there was one very good reason for that, Qrow realized. The time that he spent in Vale meant that he had plenty of time where he was able to think of his situation and make some choices.

In the end, he had decided that it was for the best if he follow James out. The payout that had been described to them made it _worth it_. It was truly the take of a lifetime, and he wasn't going to let himself be denied of it. If he got his cut from the job, then Qrow was probably going to end up being good for life, or at least for a long time.

Besides, Qrow could set up a conservative spending plan for his money and then he'd be able to just roll with things as they came up. This wasn't all bad, and Qrow could make it work. Maybe he'd tell Taiyang and Summer that he'd managed to win the lottery and had come into some money on account of that.

If he never put the money he did have away in bank accounts then it was just one less opportunity for him to get caught for what he'd done. Nobody needed to know who he was. That was all that he needed.

And if he was going to follow James out of the group, then maybe it was possible that James would let him follow after that. Of course, Qrow knew perfectly well that to go ahead and ask James to live with him would be a bit much. It was entirely possible that James would turn his back, say that he had something else going on in his life (which was true, really) and then Qrow would be left out in the cold.

Or maybe he would get James on a good day. Maybe he'd get James to agree that the two of them could live together. Maybe he'd get James on a day where the guy was feeling really spontaneous and would end up with something that was just wonderful for it.

Hoping for any one of those things in particular was definitely hoping for a bit much, but Qrow recognized that perfectly well. He wanted to make plans for after he was done with his life of crime, and no matter what Qrow was certain that he was going to be able to make it work.

But for now, he was allowed to think about possibilities and dream of what could be. Maybe he could dream of being the one there to help eat James' extra food before it could go bad at all. Maybe he could dream of becoming a step-father, or something like that.

Maybe he could dream of his and James Ironwood's combined bank accounts, and just be happy to make the other man coffee in the mornings.

A year ago, Qrow was certain that these sort of thoughts would have been more than enough to make him run. The domesticity, the idea of being with someone that wasn't just a food service worker that he'd managed to flirt his way into bed with for a maximum of three nights, the idea of having a lot of money would have all been a dream.

And maybe now Qrow had a new dream, and he knew what it was.

The question, Qrow thought as he watched Zwei wander around the front lawn of Taiyang and Summer's house, was just how willing he was to actually go for it.

It was crazy. Qrow knew that it was crazy.

He just didn't know how much he cared about that anymore.

There was a quiet knock on the door at his back, and Qrow picked his head up so that he could look back and see what was going on with the door. He saw Taiyang's cargo pants, there on the other side of the screen door, and Qrow shrugged.

"Come in." He said, fully aware of the irony of inviting someone inside when he was outside.

Taiyang pulled the door open and took a seat at Qrow's side on the stoop.

"Morning." Taiyang greeted him, looking tired but smiling widely all the same. "I saw that you were out here moping, figured it wouldn't hurt to come out and check in."

"I'm good." Qrow murmured, just as Zwei turned to trot his way over to where he and Taiyang were sitting. "Just looking after him. "

"I know." Taiyang said quietly, hesitating for just a moment. "I wanted to know how you were doing with everything going on, like Raven's..."

And really, that was all that had needed to be said. "I'm doing my best.' Qrow said, shrugging like he wasn't at all bothered by everything. "It's... hard. You know how it goes."

"Yeah," Taiyang admitted, shrugging and stretching his legs out in front of him a little bit as he made himself just a little bit more comfortable. "I guess that I do."

There wasn't really all that much that could be said on the topic after that, Qrow thought. The two of them were used to being placed in weird situations because of Raven, going back decades. Of course, for Qrow it had been a much more regular thing to deal with, but Taiyang had been run through the ringer himself.

That was just what Raven did to people, and there was truly no good way to address that fact. Really, the only way to deal with Raven was to just roll with things as they came and hope that everything was going to be okay in the long run of things. Back when they'd been younger and in university, the circumstances had made it a little bit easier. They'd given them more freedom to deal with things, more space.

And that had fallen apart all at once, all when Raven had first gotten pregnant.

And Qrow was sure that none of them had truly had Raven in their lives since that first day. After that she'd just fallen apart and then when they finally had Yang, Raven had made the decision to run.

And there wasn't anything else that could be said for it. Things had fallen apart so quickly that none of them were able to keep track of it.

The fact that Taiyang and Summer had let him into their lives when they had no real reason to was a relief. Qrow was beyond lucky to have Summer and Taiyang there for him, if only because the two of them had picked him up so many times. Through his depressions, the drinking, and just about everything else, they'd always been there.

Qrow swallowed hard, feeling his eyes beginning to mist up a little bit more than he would have liked at the thought, because there was nothing that he could do. The situation was too difficult, and it always had been. It was just that now he had some support from them.

"Thanks for keeping me around," Qrow mumbled, sighing. "I've been doing my best to be here for you guys but its been hard lately."

"Yeah, I know." Taiyang answered, sounding calm but not at all as upbeat as he could have been. Qrow couldn't blame him for that for a second. "We're glad to have you around. I think that me and Summer are already getting ready for the worst to happen and..."

"I'm not going anywhere." Qrow whispered, doing his best not to grimace too much with the thought. Things were terrible. They only had the potential to get so much worse. "No matter what she does. You guys are my family, and I'm not going to be leaving you behind."

Taiyang stared him down, his eyes soft and his expression gentle. Qrow was sure that there was something running through his friend's mind in that moment, but he couldn't exactly imagine what that thing could possibly be. "I know." He said finally. "It feels a little bit like we're losing you, but I think that it's for a good reason."

And Qrow didn't need to imagine anything to know what it was that Taiyang was referring to. "Oh." He said, leaning back. "You mean James?"

Taiyang laughed, but his face did seem to redden at least a little bit. "You said it first, not me."

Qrow rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure thing Tai." He mumbled, shrugging. "I don't know what's going on there right now. It's... weird."

"Well dating's never really been your thing."

"No," Qrow laughed, shaking his head and reaching out as Zwei got a little closer to them. The dog took the hint and stepped up next to him, shoving his wet nose into the palm of Qrow's hand. "It really hasn't been, has it?"

"It's a good look on you." Taiyang said quietly, and Qrow felt his heart beginning to burst in his chest. That was so much more than he would have ever expected from his friend. "And if it's something that you think that you want to pursue, I don't think that me and Summer are going to do anything to stop you." He paused, staring off across the street and watching a bird. "Besides, the kids like James and Penny. I doubt it'd be a thing where we never see you again."

Qrow smirked. "I'm not intending to go anywhere," He said, "Just off of your couch if I can manage."

"I can't pretend that we would hate getting our couch back." Taiyang smiled, letting out a quiet laugh that almost sounded like a scoff. "Hopefully you'll be comfortable wherever you end up."

"Thanks, Tai." Qrow said, turning his hand so that he could scratch at Zwei's ears. "It means a lot to hear that from you. I'm doing my best to do better, I really am. And I'm going to be here no matter what, and if Raven bolts, don't go thinking for a second that I'm going anywhere. You guys are the ones that have been here for me, not her."

"But you've been seeing her for years."

"Not really," Qrow sighed. "It's been a situation where... if she needed something it was always up to me to pick up the pieces for her."

"Right." Taiyang frowned. "Sounds stressful."

"It's Raven."

Saying it as blunt as that felt bad. It was a bitter reminder of exactly how fucked up his relationship with his sister had gotten to be over the years, but the problem that Qrow had was that it was full of truth. Sure there was no good way to state it, but this was his sister that he was dealing with.

He'd spent an entire lifetime being tied to one of the single most frustrating people on the planet, and he was still alive and kicking. Qrow guessed that had to speak for something, though he didn't know what that thing would be.

Taiyang let out a quiet laugh. "Yeah," he said, sounding a little bit far away. Too far away for Qrow's liking really, "she is."

"And after everything, you still love her." Qrow said quietly, because he couldn't think of anything else that he could really say at that point.

"I do." Taiyang spoke, just as quiet as Qrow was. He seemed like he was at a loss for words, or was at the very least far away from Qrow mentally. "I just don't know how good that's going to end up being in the long run."

Qrow paused, thinking Taiyang's words over. The guy had really managed to sum everything that was going on so simply, and Qrow wasn't quite sure how Taiyang, goofy Taiyang, who forgets to buy ingredients and once threw up the color blue because he'd eaten nothing but cotton candy for a day or two back in college, had managed to touch on something that was very real and very genuine.

And the worst part was that Qrow needed to do something. He had to say something, to try to support Taiyang, do something. And if Qrow was going to do something, then he needed for that thing to end up being genuine somehow. No room for playing around. This had to be real.

It had to be as real as the colossal mess that Raven had managed to turn his life into.

And really, there was only one response that he could have reasonably given.

He let out a too heavy breath and turned his head so that he could look Taiyang directly in the eye. The morning sun was beginning to wash over the two of them, and it felt appropriate, at least on some level, that Qrow would talk to Taiyang about what he was feeling and going through now.

So finally, he opened his mouth and let himself speak,. "I don't blame you." He said finally, knowing that it probably wasn't the most convincing thing that he could have said to his friend. "I still love her too."

"She's your sister."

"She broke your heart." Qrow retorted. "And you still love her."

And that was all that it really took to shut Taiyang up. The blonde smiled softly and nodded, "You're right," He mumbled. "And I'm glad to have been able to be there for her when she still loved me."

Qrow wanted to bite his tongue, because there was something whispering in the back of his mind that told him rather clearly that Raven might not have been capable of loving someone in that way at all. Qrow wasn't even confident that Raven was able to love her family, people like him that she'd spent her entire life with.

"We're a mess, aren't we?" Taiyang asked, blinking and looking over at Qrow with eyes that were getting wet. And oh, that was really something that Qrow didn't want to have to deal with, despite the fact that he was fairly certain that it was going to come anyways. "You and me and Summer."

"Don't forget Raven." Qrow corrected. He shifted uncomfortably where he was sitting and picked a hand up so that he could rub at his chest and try to make himself feel a little bit more relaxed. It didn't work. There was a weight on him that wasn't letting up, and nothing seemed like it was going to be able to calm him. He needed to go somewhere and get a chance to lie down, or get something to eat.

It was still early in the morning, though. Qrow was sure that the opportunity to do those things hadn't yet been lost. He could lie down and try to get some shut eye, and when the time came around he would be able to get up and have something to eat. Someone was going to make breakfast, and he was damned if that person was going to end up being him that morning.

Taiyang reached out for the dog, and Zwei understood what was going on. He waggled his little stub of a tail and climbed up next to the two of them, where the corgi wedged himself in between Qrow and Taiyang. Tai was patting the dog's head and scratching behind his ear, and it was a pleasantly quiet scene. Qrow liked it that way.

Deciding that it was for the best, Qrow reached over and pat the dog as well. Zwei seemed to wiggle under his touch a little bit, but it wasn't enough to make things get uncomfortable at all. Really, having the dog there was all that it was needed to make Qrow think about his feelings and weigh what was going on. It was quiet and relaxed, and soon this was going to all fall apart again.

And for now, Qrow had every intent on being there for his friend. "We're going to be okay," Qrow said finally. "We're family, Tai. You're my family, and I love you." He paused, because he realized quickly this could fall apart. I love yous weren't on the list of things that he and Taiyang would normally say to each other, and Qrow was very aware of that fact.

And yeah, just as expected, Taiyang was taking the chance to stare at him for some reason, and Qrow really hated it. At some point Taiyang was going to speak up and say something about how Qrow had overstepped, but instead the guy picked his arm up and reached out for Qrow, wrapping it around his shoulder and pulling Qrow in.

Without much of a way to protest it, Qrow fell into Taiyang's grip.

It was only then that he realized that Taiyang was grinning, very widely and he looked much happier than he had in a very long time. "I love you too." Taiyang said finally, seeming excited by the new occurrence if anything else. "And I'm really glad to have you here, Qrow. I know that we aren't always off on the best foot, but-"

"But?" Qrow prompted, beginning to take the chance to squirm himself away from Taiyang. "But what?"

"But you're like a brother to me!" Taiyang exclaimed, bringing his arms up as he finally allowed for Qrow to break free from him. "And you're the best uncle that Ruby and Yang could have asked for. Sure you aren't pert, but we like it that way. All four of us."

There was a warmth beginning to well up in Qrow's chest, a comforting sweet thing that Qrow wasn't able to ignore. He wished that he was able to stop time for a moment, that he could do something to make sure that Taiyang never left. If he could have taken a photo, Qrow absolutely would have gone ahead and done that.

But that wasn't possible. For the time being, it was just the two of them. No cameras, and the only witness to the nice touching moment that they'd shared was the dog. And he wasn't going to talk.

"Thanks, Tai." Qrow mumbled, his voice barely making it out above a whisper. "It means a lot to hear that from you after everything."

"I know." Taiyang smiled widely. "I'm glad to have you in my life,Qrow. I know that sometimes that might not be that easy to believe, but I mean it. I mean it the same way that Summer would mean it, or the girls would. You're family. And we're always going to hold on to you for as long as we can."

"Got it." Qrow laughed, leaning back and allowing himself to stretch out a little bit. He and Taiyang were going to have to go in sooner or later, especially seeing that Zwei was long finished with what he'd been doing. He seemed happy, and that was really why Qrow had come out in the first place. Qrow sighed heavily and shook his head, turning to face his friend once more. "We should probably-""

"Right." Tayaing snapped to attention and forced himself up to his feet with a stretch. "I guess we should go in. Do you want me to make breakfast?"

Qrow stared Taiyang down, a little bit more than unsure of what to say. He was always the one making breakfast, that wasn't a Taiyang thing to do. Maybe he'd managed to get Taiyang feeling perfectly sentimental, that couldn't have been such a bad thing, could it?

Qrow didn't know, and he supposed that at least on some level, it didn't matter at all.

He hesitated for a moment longer than he should have, and finally Qrow found it in himself to speak up and give an answer. "Breakfast sounds great." Qrow told Taiyang as he stretched out across the couch and made himself comfortable. "specially if I'm not the one that has to make it."

Taiyang laughed his normal barking laugh. "Yeah, sure thing, Qrow." He joked as he began to move around in the kitchen. From where he was laying, Qrow was able to hear every movement that Taiyang made. The sound of clanking metal echoed in his ears, and Qrow just did his best to drown it out.

That didn't last long though, because Taiyang's voice was there again very soon. "Eggs sound good?"

"Yeah!" Qrow called back. "With bacon if you can do it."

"Sure thing!" Taiyang called back, and Qrow could hear the sound of the fridge door opening and then closing again. This was comfortable, Qrow thought silently. He liked the way that things were going as they were in that moment.

After that, the two of them were able to slip into a comfortable sort of silence. While Taiyang cooked breakfast, Qrow was able to let his eyes close and relax into the couch. When Zwei wedged himself in next to Qrow, it was nice. Almost like lying side by side with a stuffed animal that was oh so happy to have him there.

That quiet was short lived though, because soon enough Taiyang was coming in with two plates of breakfast and pushing Qrow's legs aside as he took his seat.

Feeling a slight flash of annoyance, Qrow pushed himself upright and turned to take his plate from Taiyang. Once the two of them were properly situation the conversation between the two of them was finally allowed to begin.

"Thanks," Qrow said, smiling slightly as he stabbed his fork into the first bit of food that it touched. "You really didn't have to."

"Eh," Taiyang said, cutting into his bacon with the side of his fork. "I figure that you do this often enough for us that I might as well try and even it up."

"Well, its nice." Qrow said, smiling and leaning back into the couch again, balancing his plate on his stomach. "Feels like old times."

"Yeah," Taiyang mumbled as he shifted to mimic what Qrow was doing. "All that's missing is the smoke alarm going off."

And that was really a flash to the past to think about. Qrow wasn't able to stop the laugh that he let out, turned, and looked Taiyang directly in the eyes now. "Now we have to worry about when your kids are going to get up."

Taiyang was quiet for a long time, but he had this soft, contemplative smile on his face that Qrow didn't dare want to see go away. "Things are going to work out for the better, aren't they?"

That question was enough to make Qrow's stomach sink. Things had worked out well enough for Taiyang and Summer, and sure he and Raven were both in pretty weird places. But things had been working out for the most part. The only problem was that now Qrow was in a place where he was relying on something to change and for a job to go particularly well.

If that didn't happen, then Qrow didn't think that he was going to be able to feel confident saying that things were going to work out either way. Not when things were already messy and unclear and hard to manage. it would all begin to clear up in due time, Qrow was confident of that.

It was just that right now there were too many variables and absolutely no way of working past them.

So instead of giving a genuine answer Qrow forced on a smile and shot Taiyang a grin. "Yeah, for sure." He said, smiling as he leaned back into the couch just a little bit more. "You and Summer have great kids. Raven's doing better. I've got a new boyfriend. Things are good."

Qrow tried his best to ignore the fact that his stomach flipped and turned uncomfortably over the statement, and that the words felt too bitter as they rested on his tongue.

Because after all, Taiyang didn't need to know about the truth behind Qrow's new boyfriend.


	83. Finalized

p id="docs-internal-guid-5e9d86c8-615b-7fe7-4041-e8ab1d4736a1" dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"James and Qrow parked at James' house, and Qrow was the first to get out of the car while James lagged a few steps behind. He was carrying two or three boxes of uncooked pizzas which James /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;"swore/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;" were going to be necessary later on in the night./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"He was right, Qrow knew. They were looking at a full house, with so much to do. This was going to be the last meeting before everything finally came together and they were to go out to do the job that was going to probably change their lives. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"As things stood, they were expecting for people to start showing up for the meeting in about half an hour, and Qrow was very, /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;"very/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;" nervous about that fact. He knew that James had been meeting with Ozpin during the time that he was out in Vale. James hadn't gone into depth on what he and Ozpin had been meeting about and working on, but Qrow could tell that it had James getting more and more stressed out. As though that was even possible./spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"That said, for the time being, the prospect of having something to eat and worrying about pizza instead of his life of crime was a nice change of pace. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"James got the door and Qrow followed in after him as the two made a beeline for the kitchen. Qrow put the pizzas in the oven like James has told him to, and listened to the sound of James removing things from the plastic bags of groceries that they'd picked up on the way back to the house. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""How long do we have?" James asked as he set two bottles down in the fridge side by side./spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Qrow wrinkled his nose. "Not long." He said, sighing. "Should we be expecting someone early?"/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""Roman and Junior probably," James said calmly, finally finishing in what he was doing and standing up straight. "Don't worry about it. I'll go and get things set up for the meeting." /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""Right." Qrow sighed. He watched as James' form disappeared out ot the kitchen and Qrow grimaced. This was going to just be a meeting. Whoever showed up was going to be important, the same as when they finally decided that they wanted to get together. This wasn't a simple matter and Qrow had long accepted that fact. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"But James' absence bought Qrow a chance to think things over. Mostly, he just busied himself in the kitchen until the doorbell rang before hurrying over to it and pulling the door open. "Hello?"/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Roman and Junior were there, both wearing smiles as a fake veneer. "Qrow!" Roman exclaimed, sounding so excited to have Qrow there for them already. "The General already at work, or do I have you alone for a while?"/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""He's in the office." Qrow answered as he stepped aside and let Junior and Roman into the room. "Getting ready for everything." /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""Right." Junior said, pushing past the two of them and making a beeline for James' office. Qrow was ready to follow along, but was stopped by the feeling of Roman's hand wrapping around his arm. That was surprising. He turned just slightly to face the other man. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""Roman?" Qrow asked, feeling worried all of a sudden. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"And Roman was there, staring him down with emerald green eyes that had the look of worry swimming down deep in them already. "I just wanted to talk to you, handsome." Roman said, pulling Qrow in just a little bit closer. Realizing that whatever Roman wanted was probably important, Qrow forced himself to stop for a moment. "Do you have a minute?"/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""Yeah," Qrow said, pulling his arm free gently. "I think so. What is it?" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Roman smiled softly and let out a quiet sigh. "I just... wanted to talk to you." There it was, the nervousness and Roman's mask breaking down all at once. "Junior and I have been talking and..."  
/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""And?"/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""I just wanted to get your opinion on what's going on since you have a bit of an… inside look." Roman said finally. "We've looked at the numbers for this job, and we've talked, and I think that the two of us want to pull out of this business once this job is over." /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""Oh." Qrow said dumbly, because what was he really supposed to be able to say to that? Of course, it wasn't like he and James weren't both also thinking about leaving this life behind. The only problem was that Qrow had been so worked up in his own mind worrying about himself and James that the fact that Roman, Junior, Glynda, and Winter (and god, he forgot about how young she was so often) were also tied up in this. There was no good way to avoid it. "Is it uh... You guys are serious?"/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""As the plague." Roman sighed. "Do you think that we could get everyone out in one go if we-" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""I don't know." Qrow mumbled. "I know James wants to get out, and I do too, but I can't really say anything for Glynda. Winter probably goes when the rest of us do." /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""It's just so much to worry about." Roman mumbled./spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"That was one of those things that Qrow couldn't really argue about. All of them were drowning under their circumstances, and just because he, and James, and Roman, and Junor had decided that they were done with it once they got this one bit payout, it didn't mean all that much. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"After all, Ozpin could still go out, find new people, and then just continue on in their reign of…/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Qrow didn't know whether or not 'tyranny' might have been the right word to describe it, but it felt oddly fitting despite all of that. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"He swallowed hard and looked up at Roman, smiling slightly as he looked back over at Roman, who was wearing his worry all too noticeably. It wasn't a good look on Roman. Roman belonged out there in the world with wide smiles and bright eyes and everflowing confidence, nothing like the man that was standing next to him now. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""You think that we're going to be able to figure this out?" Roman asked, his voice quiet and his faze somehow managing to be all too far away from where they were. "You and me, and Junior and James?"/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Qrow swallowed hard. It was the question that was going to weigh on him until this was over. that was probably going to be their only good chance to make things get a little bit better. He took in a deep breath and looked over at Roman before finally forcing on a smile. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""I guess we are," he said, shrugging. "I mean, they say money can't buy happiness, but it sure as hell can make things a hell of a lot easier." /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Roman paused, smiled, and he seemed to get a little bit more comfortable and relaxed all at once. This was exactly what he'd needed to see, Qrow thought. Roman acting comfortably again. "You are definitely right about that." Roman said, laughing quietly. "Easier works well for me." /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""I feel the same way." Qrow said with a shrug as he pushed off from the counter so that they could finally go back to James' office for their meeting. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"When the two of them stepped in, James and Junior were just sitting by James' desk, with one on each side. The two of them looked like they had been talking about something, and Qrow was curious what the two of them had been discussing but didn't want to pry too much. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent;  
vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"James picked his head up and looked over at Qrow and Roman. "Are you two okay?" He asked, keeping his voice relatively quiet and gentle. It was too calm for what Qrow knew James had been like before Roman and Junior had finally arrived. Earlier James had been wound tight. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Now, it seemed like Junior had managed to calm James down completely. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""Of course we are, James." Roman said, snapping his confidence up all at once. "The two of us just needed a minute to trade all of the hot gossip." /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"James didn't reply, but he did give Roman a narrowed eyed stare like he was looking for something particular, but relaxed. "I hope it was informative." He said finally, looking over at Qrow to make sure that they were both doing fine. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""I can promise you it was." Qrow said, deciding to take his seat on the edge of James' desk. "You wouldn't believe what Helen from accounting did this week." /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""She's the worst." Roman joked, taking a seat beside Junior and leaning back into the chair as he made himself comfortable. "How long until we get started?" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""It's going to depend on when Ozpin, Glynda, and Winter arrive." James said with a slight shrug. This was going to be good, Qrow thought. They'd never really had a meeting where Ozpin showing up was part of the plans in the first place, not formally at least. That wasn't a comfortable thing to think about, if only because Ozpin was very good at unnerving people. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""Right." Qrow said as he leaned back just slightly. He reached back with one hand to make sure that he was able to stay stable. "Any idea how long this is going to go?"/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""I can't say that I do." James said with a shrug. "We never do know how long this is going to go. If Ozpin's going to be here then we have to be ready for it to be drawn out and to go on for as long as we need it to." /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"When Qrow watched James' face, it was deeply uncomfortable, but the man had managed to hide it under a rather convincing mask. James was going to need some rest later on, and when that happened Qrow was sure that it was going to be partially on him to make sure that things go well. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Besides, getting James to calm down wasn't a terrible thing to have to go through, at least from Qrow's point of view. It meant that he was going to be able to curl in against James and rub his shoulders. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"And when they got up in the morning, breakfast was going to be great./spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Junior leaned back in his seat and stretched just slightly before turning his head to look James in the eye. "If you think that you're going to need us to help with anything in particular, just ask." /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""I will." James said with a sigh. "We got pizza earlier so that we could make sure that everyone's going to be fed, but for the meeting itself, I don't know that I can promise anything."/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""Not surprising." Junior sighed, but was soon interrupted by the sound of the doorbell ringing. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"James picked his head up and looked over at Qrow. Qrow didn't need to be asked to know what this was all about. He edged his way out of the office and began on the way to the front door so that he could see what was going on at the door. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"A part of Qrow was sure that if it was Ozpin, they wouldn't have even bothered with the doorbell. They could have just gone ahead and done whatever they wanted without a single question asked./spanspan style="font-size:  
11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"He looked at the others in the room for just a moment before pushing off and heading off to the front door so that he could see who was there. From inside, Qrow wasn't able to see who was on the other side of the door, but he hesitated nonetheless as he reached out to pull the door open. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"On the other side, Winter was standing there with Glynda. While Glynda looked like she was doing her best to stay patient, Winter was busy doing something on her phone. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""Qrow." Glynda greeted him with a tight-lipped stare and an unimpressed tone. "How good to see you." /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""Hey, Glynda." Qrow responded, feeling a little bit taken aback because he didn't know what to make of Glynda's tone. He didn't think that there was anything weird between himself and Glynda, but it was possible that James had told Glynda a little bit about some of the awkwardness that existed. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""Have they started?" Glynda asked. Qrow just stepped aside so that Glynda could step inside, and she took the chance. At her side, Winter finally looked up from her phone and stepped inside. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""Not yet," Qrow said with a shrug. He was going to be able to start the walk down towards the office where everyone was currently waiting. In the back of his mind, Qrow was more than completely aware of the fact that they were going to find themselves in a situation where they were just waiting for Ozpin to show up before they could finally get started. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Whenever that would be. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""I see." Glynda answered him, letting Winter walk ahead of them and enter the office before pausing just outside next to Qrow. Instead of saying anything, she just focused her gaze onto him and began to speak. "How are you feeling about this?" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"The first thought that Qrow had was that for Glynda to go asking him about anything like that was weird. It was beyond out of the ordinary, and he didn't have even the slightest clue as to how he was going to be expected to respond. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"So he hesitated, craning his neck so that he could peer into James' office and see what little there was inside that he could actually look at. Just like when he'd left, they were just sitting around and talking. The nervousness and the tension hadn't relaxed at all, but Qrow had been expecting that. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"But that still wasn't enough to keep him from swallowing nervously before he decided to give Glynda an answer. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""It's something." Qrow said finally, pausing. "Have you talked to James or Ozpin about it?" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""A little." Glynda admitted, keeping her volume down to make sure that they were matched. It was for the best if the two of them just kept quiet and stayed out of the way. "Ozpin wasn't very forthcoming, and James..."/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""Got it." Qrow sighed. "We should go in." /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"It was an excuse. Oh god, how was it an excuse. Qrow just needed to feel like he was going to actually have some space to do things, and if he was going to be stuck standing outside of the office with Glynda talking quietly and hoping that nobody was going to notice, Qrow didn't want that. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"She nodded, letting out a quiet sigh that spoke to nothing more than annoyance before the two of them went into the office themselves. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align:  
baseline;"James picked his head up and looked between the two of them, a question written across his face that he didn't seem to be too interested in actually asking. "Everything good?" James asked instead. Qrow was wondering whether or not he was going to see some sort of interrogation for it all later, but he didn't think that it was going to be too big of a deal. This was just James being James. Normal. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""All good." Qrow said, hopping up so that he could sit on the desk like he had been earlier. Glynda seated herself in one of the chairs near Junior and seemed to relax. That just left the question of how long it was going to be before Ozpin showed up. "Just wanted to chat." /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""It was nothing of concern." Glynda spoke up, keeping her voice in that annoyingly cool tone that she always did. Again, Qrow felt a pang of guilt. He knew perfectly well that he and Glynda were on strange terms and that wasn't going to be something that would alleviate so easily. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Someday this was all going to start making proper sense. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""I see." James said, his jaw clamping shut as he forced himself up to his feet and crossed the room so that he could pin up the map that they always used. He was taking his time, re-pinning certain things into place and Qrow watched as James began to wind some string around the pins to trace some roads. "We're just waiting on Ozpin before we can get started." /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"There was a collective mumble of affirmation, and the entire room was able to fall into a state of quiet relaxation just after that. Qrow forced himself to relax as much as he possibly could, and it didn't do all that much for him, but Qrow wasn't able to ignore it so easily. Things were hard, and it was going to be the reality of their situation until they were past this job./spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"After that, it looked like all of them were going their separate ways. A part of him wanted to ask the question of Winter and Glynda. He wanted to know what they were going to do once this all fell apart. Maybe Winter was going to use her money to pay for school or something, and Glynda was probably going to do whatever it was that she did with money. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"It was all interesting to think about, and Qrow felt a very guilty wave wash over him when he thought about Winter in particular. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"When James talked about leaving the group, he tended to do so in the terms of never seeing any of them again. It wasn't a good thing, but James always talked about it in the terms of necessity. With Qrow and Roman and Junior, Qrow figured that it was so much easier for James to think about pushing them away. But Winter wasn't like them. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Winter was like James' daughter, and Qrow was very well aware of that. If James was going to end up leaving this life, then it meant that he was going to run and push everyone away aside from the one person that James genuinely considered family. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"And Qrow wasn't sure where he stood with regard to it all. If he had any idea, then he figured that James would have finally just gone ahead and talked to him about everything. He would have taken the chance to put things into perspective in a way that made some sort of sense, and then Qrow would be able to finally begin to relax and get past just how bad things were. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Winter wa going to end up being the lucky one at the end of this all. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"And Qrow hated thinking about it, because the reasons for that had absolutely no possibility of being good ones. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Time passed, ticking by minute after minute until it finally bled into an hour which was ultimately punctuated with the sound of the doorbell ringing. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"The entire room went dead silent just like that, all of them staring each other down for a moment before James finally sighed heavily and turned, heading to the door and beginning on his way out of the room. He was silent on the way out, and with James gone Qrow felt himself beginning to feel more and more nervous about being there side by side with the rest of them in the office. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family:  
Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"None of them said anything, but Qrow did find himself and Roman exchanging a look that was all too hard to interpret. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"From the other room, Qrow was able to hear the sound of James and Ozpin talking about something. It sounded like the two of them were getting a little intense with each other, and Qrow was already worrying that was going to manage to bleed into everything else. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"This wasn't good. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"If James and Ozpin were going to be fighting before the meeting even started properly, then Qrow couldn't imagine that this meeting was going to go well at all. There were too many chances that this could get worse and worse. And if things got bad enough.../spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"All at once, a hundred conversations came flooding back to him. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"He knew how this was going to end if nobody was going to be able to calm themselves down just so that they could get their planning done. This was their last proper meeting before things happened, as far as Qrow knew. After this, it was going to come down to what happened out on the road and at the bank. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"And then after that.../spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Maybe thinking about '/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;"after/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"' was a little bit too optimistic for the situation, all things brought into consideration. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Qrow really didn't like that at all. There were too many ways that this could fall apart. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"And oh, how it was a hard pill for him to swallow. How was he supposed to be able to just ignore these things and act like there was absolutely nothing wrong? When they were in a place where the future was so unsure and out of focus?/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"The worst part was that no matter how hard Qrow tried to get around these worries and these concerns, he had absolutely no way to ignore what was going on, probably in James' kitchen. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"It only had the opportunity of ruining them all. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"All at once, the argument in the other room seemed to go all but silent, and Qrow couldn't help but consider it as a sign. Either way, this was about to get started, and Qrow had absolutely no idea as to how things were going to go from there. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"James and Ozpin streamed into the office one by one, both of them looking incredibly tense and not bothering to look at each other. This was bad. This was so, so bad, and Qrow had absolutely no way to ignore it. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"James seemed to shoot Ozpin a glare before going to the desk and picking up the stack of supplies that he'd left there while Ozpin looked out at the rest of them. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""Hello. To all of you." Ozpin greeted them, smiling a gentle sort of smile that to Qrow only managed to look mischievous at best. "I hope that you are all doing well tonight." /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Nobody said anything, and the only thing that told any of them that the meeting was finally starting was the quiet click of the door to the office closing. Qrow didn't think for a second that it was going to do anything to keep unwanted ears away from them, considering that James' home was empty and all of that. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size:  
11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"But it sent a message all the same. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"James glared at Ozpin, and it was a long moment before they spoke again. "As you all know, we have a job coming up very soon and as such you should all be considering this the final meeting." /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Silence stayed over them, and that was something that Qrow wished he wasn't able to predict./spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Ozpin seemed to take it as an opportunity to keep on talking, and that wasn't surprising at all. They simply decided that they wanted to commandeer the front of the room, and for the rest of them, they seemed to be glad to make that choice. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""As you know, we are looking at rather high stakes with regards to this assignment and as such I am expecting to see only the best from all of you." They paused. "You are all well aware of your assignments, and I expect that each of you will be able to fulfill them."/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Qrow let his eyes flicker over at James, hoping to find something on the man's face so that he could finally get a read on how James was doing, but it wasn't that simple. James just stared ahead and kept his eyes down like he thought that he was going to be able to relax that way. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"It was useless, Qrow was sure. Just an attempt to make things work in a time when everything felt like it was completely hopeless. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"And somehow, every word that Ozpin said managed to sound pointed and barbed in some way. Almost like they were trying to both inspire them and inspire doubt in them. It was odd, worrying. It left Qrow wondering what the hell had been said before Ozpin and James had gone in because the two of them were just acting weird. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"He glanced over at Roman out of the corner of his eye when he realized that James probably wasn't about to give him the time of day. Whatever was going on with him, James was entirely wrapped up in his own head and he definitely wasn't about to budge on anything. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Ozpin stared James down now, prompting him. Qrow watched James' mouth and saw the way that it moved and twitched in an attempt to turn to a frown that James didn't dare allow to peek through. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"James understood and stepped up to the front of the room for himself, standing there with his arms crossed over his chest in a way that only read to Qrow as being defensive. Whatever was going through James' mind, he definitely didn't want to be there that day. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"James looked between all of them with his eyes intense before letting out a quiet sigh. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""Ozpin is correct." James began, his tone all too serious. "I trust that you are all more than capable of what we need to do for this. On the day of the job, I want to see all of you bright and early. I want you there at the warehouse at seven am sharp, no exceptions." /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"There was a collective groan, and for the first time Qrow realized that James was treating them like they were doing drills of some sort. And Qrow sincerely wished that he was surprised by that fact at all. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""I know." James sighed, looking down at the ground and not picking his gaze up at all so that he could really talk to the others. "But I want to be sure that everyone knows what they're going to be doing and I want to treat the day of the job as..." His voice trailed off for a moment before James finally got it back. "I want to treat that morning as a meeting of sorts. It'll be our final chance for bookkeeping before we'll be able to move." /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Glynda shifted slightly, and she raised a careful hand. "Should we be preparing to wear certain clothes?"/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent;  
vertical-align: baseline;""Yes." James answered. "And that's part of the reason I want you all there the morning of the job. It'll be a chance for everyone to get into the uniforms that we'll be wearing, and after that it's going to be up to all of you to be able to figure out what you're going to be dressing in after that. Just try to be normal with whatever you choose to you wear."/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"It was an entirely rational request, Qrow thought as he looked from James to the others. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as Roman scribbled down a note on his hand, and then when he watched, he saw the way that the man stood there. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Stone faced. Serious. Ready to fight. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"That was what was wrong, Qrow realized. James had been working in a nearly-constant flight or fight mode, and he was ready to fight. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"James swallowed hard, his adam's apple bobbing in his throat. "The point is that after it's done we're all going to need to be able to blend in. The good thing is that because we'll be working with a van-" He shot Ozpin a look, and Qrow watched a slow smile split James' response when Ozpin nodded./spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Things were actually going according to plan, and that was huge. That meant that the time that they'd spent trying to plan for two possible situations wasn't completely wasted. They still had a contingency plan, but Plan A was going to be the good thing./spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"James looked back to their group. "We'll be able to store extra clothes on the van." He explained calmly. "So be prepared to change as soon as we need to." /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Glynda leaned forward in her seat and raised a wary hand to draw attention to her. James didn't say anything, just nodded slightly, and then Glynda began to speak. "So we will still be doing our own getaways?" She asked, tone too cool and expression bored. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""We will, Glynda." Ozpin answered, leaning against James' desk and making themself comfortable there. "I do trust that you all will be able to handle that?" They stared James down with those words, and Qrow watched as James tensed and stiffened. He was being challenged and there wasn't a single person in the room that wasn't aware of it./spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""Very well." Glynda responded, pushing her glasses back up her nose and allowing herself to relax just slightly. "We've done this before." /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""We have." James said, taking a step forward and looking between all of them. "I believe in this group, and I know that you are all more than capable of doing what we need you to do on this job."/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Qrow tried to ignore the sinking realization that James was very purposely excluding himself from that statement. He was prepared for this to go, but James wasn't confident that he was going to be able carry on between all of them. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"James stood tall though, clicking his pen idly. "As it stands, we will be meeting at the warehouse on the morning of the job. Expect a lot of downtime before we head off to get to work. Our pick up will be arriving at Atlas Second National Bank at 5 o'clock sharp. Glynda, Winter, it will be up to you to lie down spike strips to delay the actual security van. When that's done, you will contact us /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;"immediately/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;", are you clear?"/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""Understood." Glynda answered, scribbling down a note of her own. "We'll get that done and get out of the way before we can get caught." /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""Good." James said, pointing at the map to draw attention to the major road. "You may have to tail the actual truck for a little bit to figure out the direction that it'll be driving in, but it should go without too much trouble." /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Winter leaned forward, putting her pen up in the air to get James' attention. "Won't there be police?"/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family:  
Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""It's entirely possible." James replied. "You two are smart and Glynda's a good driver. The strips should buy you a little bit of time to get away. Once you've done that, blast the car and make your getaway. Be sure to find a safe location to do that from. If you can, store your spare car nearby so that you'll be able to use it." /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Glynda nodded, but she didn't look confident about it. Winter looked equally uneasy about the order, to the point where Qrow had to wonder whether or not James' plans tended to rely largely on luck. James didn't seem like the type that would, but now Qrow wasn't feeling so sure. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"James turned his attention to Roman, Junior, and Qrow. "Qrow," he started. "I know that you're probably the best driver that we have, and I'm going to trust you to be able to hold that." /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"It wasn't much, Qrow thought, but it was something. To know that he wasn't going to end up in the middle of this wasn't such a bad thing, but Qrow was going to be able to make whatever ended up happening work. James trusted him to, and the stakes were high for everyone. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Qrow was going to be able to do this. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""Are you sure?" Qrow asked, looking over at James and watching the way that uneasiness flit across the taller man's face. "I figured you would want it to be the two of us going in there together." /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"James' mouth dropped open a little bit in disbelief. He clamped it back shut just as quick, and Qrow just stared James down. James tore his eyes away and looked to Roman for help, of all the people. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"That was a surprise. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Roman didn't say anything, just nodded and gestured towards Qrow. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Whatever had been silently said between the two of them in that moment had been more than enough to spur James towards a decision. James just nodded in return before locking his eyes with Qrow./spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""Do you want to be going into the bank?"/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""Yeah," Qrow replied, staring back at James. "You and I have been partners, haven't we? I don't want to ruin it when it's going to be our last chance to work together like this." /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"James' jaw was set, his eyes challenging. But James nodded and looked back to Roman. "Would you be opposed to trading off your position on the bank team to drive instead?"/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""I wouldn't be." Roman replied, smiling slyly. "You know that I can drive just fine, anyways." /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""Right." James smiled. "Of course. Qrow, you'll be going in with me, then."/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Qrow sincerely wished that James' words were able to actually provide him with some sort of comfort. He wished that the decision for him to be able to go in with James and do this job from the front lines wasn't something that also managed to leave him feeling completely uneasy. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"This should have been easy. It should have made sense. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"But he needed to say something, if only because that was going to be the only way to deflect any weirdness away from himself before it could get too strange. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Qrow forced on his best smile and locked his eyes with James'. "Sounds good, General." He responded with a shrug. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"James stared him down with something unreadable written across his face that Qrow wasn't quite sure that he wanted to know the full story behind. Maybe James had wanted him in the car because it theoretically meant that there would be more room for him to get away and be safe. Maybe James had been just trying to keep Qrow safe. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"And if that was true, then Qrow knew for a fact that he'd just placed James in a position where that wasn't possible. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"But for as long as that weird emotional touch was able to be there on James' face, it didn't last. James just turned away and looked back to Roman so that he could continue on with directions. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""Roman," he began as calmly as he could manage. "You'll be driving. I trust that you've been doing your research to ensure that you know the best ways to get back to the warehouse from the bank. You're going to have an additional vehicle somewhere as well, but I need you feeling confident." /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""What do you mean by that, General?" Roman asked, leaning in and staring James down with narrowed green eyes. "Because it sounds to me like you're asking me to do something if you think that things are going to fall apart." /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""That's because I am." James replied. "We have no guarantee that this will go cleanly. If it comes to it, I want you to be prepared to run." /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Silence fell over the room, and James and Roman both stood their with their eyes locked in an unwavering stare. Neither of them wanted to say anything, but both of them seemed to understand the situation at hand perfectly well. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"That was for the better, Qrow wanted to think. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"But that couldn't have been all of it. There was much more going on behind the scenes that nobody wanted to say. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""Very well," Roman snapped, sitting up tall and crossing one leg over the other. "I'll keep that in mind." /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""Thank you." James whispered before turning and facing Roman and Qrow both. Qrow looked over at Junior, looking for something from the other man that would be able to help him out. Junior had been in with this for a long time, and Qrow was sure that he had spent more than enough time getting used to how this sort of job was meant to go. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"That was a good thing. Qrow hadn't gone in on something like this before. James and Junior were both well trained and knew what they were doing, but Qrow wasn't sure that he trusted James not to lock up at a bad time or fall apart at the seams. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"There were too many ways that things could go wrong. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"James brought his hands together behind his back and stood up straight. "Qrow and Junior," He started. "The three of us will be the ones actually making our way into the bank itself. We will have to be prepared to play things by ear. None of us know what we'll actually have to deal with, and while there was been some reconnaissance done, we can't rely on it completely since we can't tell what sort of things are normally said or done during a pickup." /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""Right." Junior said, sitting up tall and shifting around in his seat. "I'm guessing that you wanted me because I can play security?"/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt;  
font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""That's exactly it." James explained. "And because you're also good at lifting things. I don't know how much we're actually going to end up moving at the end of this, considering that we're just going to be picking up as much as we possibly can." /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"James hesitated for a moment, and he let out a quiet sigh. "Both of you will need to be prepared with false names and tags, which you'll be given before we arrive. Don't let yourself get to psyched out by it all." He paused. "In addition, I don't want anyone going into that building unarmed. I don't want anything to happen, but if it comes to that, all of us will need to be ready to fight." /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"And the silence that came after those words was entirely too suspected. It came too easily, and it settled over the group so harshly that there was going to be no forgetting about it. Qrow knew that James always went into a job armed if he could, but he didn't want to end up on the end where that was a factor that he had to pay attention to personally. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"There were too many things that could go wrong. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"And what they were looking at was the possibility that they were going to get themselves killed. It wasn't as though this wasn't something that Qrow hadn't ever realized, but it was always in the form of car crashes and cops./spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Not shootings. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Not the possibility that one of them may have to take a life if things fell apart. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"It made him think back to the time that had come immediately following that first job that he and James had done together. He remembered the way that James had dragged that gas station attendant out of the building to make sure that they could get rid of him without killing him. He remembered the sight of the teenage girl running from a building. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"He remembered James locking up in a grocery store and not letting himself say a word. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"The timing had been coincidental, at least that had been what Qrow thought. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Now though, he wasn't so sure about it. Not when there were so many ways that things were able to fall apart at the seams. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"James had never asked any of them to do that sort of thing in the past. He'd always armed Qrow, but never asked him to use it. Never actually asked to be ready to use it. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"This was different./spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"A glance over at Junior told Qrow that Junior was feeling the same way, at least on some level./spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"All that Qrow could hope was that Junior was actually more confident than he was about these things. Hope that Junior was going to be better prepared for whatever was going to be on the other side of this. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Junior and his eyes stayed lock, and Qrow watched Junior force a weird facial expression that tried to be a smile but couldn't even begin to touch on it. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"He put his eyes back onto James, the General standing tall at the front of the room. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"James just looked to Ozpin and stared them down. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family:  
Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""Aside from that, you all know your roles." James finally announced, his jaw too tight and looking like he was entirely too tense and frustrated with his situation. "Are we clear?"/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;""We are." Ozpin said calmly, answer like the question had only been addressed to them. "Thank you, James."/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"James looked back over at the rest of them and sighed quietly. "There's food in the kitchen for all of you. I'd like to see to it that you all enjoy yourselves before we go ahead and do this."/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"There was silence. They all seemed to understand what this was. It was such a sudden cut off to the meeting, but James and Ozpin's expressions were still locked. Whatever was going on between the two of them was something that Qrow couldn't guess. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"Whatever it was, it was huge. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"And Qrow had his doubts that James was going to actually be willing to explain it all to him. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"And really, Qrow didn't know whether or not that was something that hurt or not. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"But they'd been dismissed, and Qrow didn't want to wait back and end up making himself come off as awkward or weird. He raised to his feet and went to the door to the office, lingering there by the door until someone else got up and began to follow him out. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"br class="kix-line-break" /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; background-color: transparent; vertical-align: baseline;"In the end, he found that he wasn't exactly up to having something to eat that night. /span/p 


	84. Backing Out

By the time that everyone had left that night, James felt like he had a single wire running down his spine that had been drawn as tight as it physically could be. It felt like he was going to snap at someone or something at any moment. He didn't quite trust himself, and he _hated it_.

But Qrow had stayed. Qrow hadn't needed to ask for a place to stay, and he had been respectful and gave him and Ozpin time to talk when the two of them had needed it.

There were a lot of questions that James wanted to try and ask Qrow, but he couldn't bring himself to even bring up. Not when things were so messy and unclear.

He sighed heavily and seated himself on the edge of his bed. Qrow was already there, sitting on the other side and looking at something on his phone. James could have gone ahead and asked the question about what he was so interested, but James didn't want to pry. Not now.

Not when he was already frustrated.

Qrow looked over at him out of the corner of his eye and grimaced before finally speaking up. "Want to talk?"

"No." James said as he leaned back into the bed. "Not really."

Qrow understood, mirroring James and edging himself in close so that the two of them were going to be able to touch while they were there. "It's okay." he said, not quite sure what he was comforting James over. "Whatever it is, it's okay."

"No." James mumbled, squeezing his eyes shut and doing his best to ignore that feeling of anxiety that was spiking up in his chest. "It's not."

"Jim-"

"You saw them all," James said quietly, "in the meeting today. They're all doubting that this is going to work out and while I trust all of them, I don't know that i think that it's going to work out so well either."

Qrow blinked. He hadn't exactly been expecting to hear that sort of thing out of James, and yet it only made sense that it would be where James' mind with regard to all of this. "Yeah," he mumbled, leaning back into the bed a little bit further. He needed to be able to play along like he had his things together. Even when there were things that he needed to talk to James about. "I did."

"How do you feel okay with doing this?" James asked, shifting and turning his body so that he could face Qrow directly. "Going forward with this job."

"Well, for one, I don't think that it's completely doomed or something."

James blinked and stared Qrow down. Qrow didn't do anything to avoid his gaze, and that only managed to be a massive relief. It meant that he wasn't being pulled around or lead into a conversation. He wasn't pulling Qrow into a topic that Qrow didn't want to touch.

He let out a quiet sigh, hoping that it would calm him, but only finding that it didn't do anything for his words. James wanted to swear, but only allowed himself to ball his hands into fists. "That's foolish."

"I don't think it is, Jim." Qrow shrugged. "Besides, we're going to have a good time once we get out of this. Which we _will_."

"What do you mean?" James asked, his brow furrowing. He stared Qrow down, dead in the eyes and only saw there in the red some sort of challenge that he wasn't so sure that he really wanted to answer to. "Qrow-"

"I mean that this is a big payout, Jimmy." Qrow snapped back at him, because it seemed that he too wanted to take control over the situation if he could. "And that for us to act like its not is dumb."

"Money won't make it worth it when this all falls apart." James all but snarled back at Qrow.

"Well," Qrow frowned. "What if it doesn't fall apart? What if instead of disaster we're just able to make it out with our money?"

Qrow was being surprisingly optimistic about the situation, and James didn't really know how to think about it. It was too surprising. Qrow had never really been like this before... had he?

James forced himself to consider the possibility though. He knew what he wanted to do with some of the money that he would get, but there were still so many other things to consider. Not just getting Penny back. Not just paying medical bills.

He'd been spending a lot of time preparing himself to cut the others off, and yet James didn't feel like he was actually ready to do that. The smart thing to do would have been to cast Qrow out and send him home instead of letting him stay the night and share his bed.

But Qrow was too comforting, and James was sure that this was going to end up ruining him at the end when it came time to cut off the attachment.

He should have done it before it had been able to get emotionally close. Before it could have been able to /hurt/ like James knew it was going to.

"You know what will happen, Qrow." James grumbled, forcing back any thoughts of keeping the connection intact. He needed to be able to keep himself together, above all else. James was aware of that fact and he wasn't going to let himself fail. "We'll go our separate ways. I imagine you'll keep on doing what we've been doing since I doubt Ozpin is going to stop-"

"No." Qrow cut him off, his voice entirely harsh. "Not at all, really."

"What?"

Qrow shrugged, and it seemed like he'd forced himself to look away from James. "I was thinking that it's a big enough payoff that I could be stable for a while after leaving." He hesitated. "I don't want to do this for the rest of my life, Jim."

"So, what?" James asked, watching James' expression. "You want to just... What?"

"I'm going to leave." Qrow repeated. "So are Junior and Roman."

"How do you know that?"

"Roman told me."

James wished that he knew what to say to that. There was a small part of him that couldn't help but feel like he'd been either put out or cast aside by Roman and Junior. James knew that it was wrong, and that it was petty to go thinking of things that way.

And still, it was painful to think about

"I see." James said, blinking and hoping that it would be enough for him to be able to deflect any concern. Qrow didn't need to know what was going on in his head. "I hope that it works out for them."

There. That was a neutral enough statement that James could be sure that it wouldn't raise any more red flags.

Qrow stared him down and blinked. His red eyes were too intense, and James couldn't help but feel like the other man was doing his best to see through him entirely. The thinner man opened his mouth just slightly like he wanted to say something, only to clamp it back shut a moment later. "Yeah," He said, smiling softly (though James was sure that it was at least somewhat faked. "Me too."

James let himself sink back into the bed in an attempt at feigned comfort. He had serious doubts that he was going to be able to relax enough that he would sleep easy that night already. That wasn't something that Qrow necessarily needed to know about, but James was also sure that the man had figured it out for himself.

He selected a single spot on the ceiling to stare at in the hopes that it would help him relax at least a little bit. "Have they said anything else to you about what they're planning to do?" James asked, hoping that Qrow was going to be able to share something of use. He couldn't think of what there would be that he could, but it was worth trying.

"Not really." Qrow shrugged, turning so that he could face James and stare up at him again. James didn't allow himself to divert his gaze away from the ceiling regardless of all of that. "Just that they pretty much want to take the money and run. They want to look after their kids and all of that."

And really, James couldn't go ahead and pretend like there was nothing honorable about that. At the end of the day, that was really all that any of them were really looking for. James just wanted to be able to look after his daughter, Qrow wanted to give a better life to his family. Winter was looking for a better life of her own.

"I hope it works out for them." James repeated, still at a loss for words. There had to be something that he could say or do that he would be able to say to make things work better. "They're good people."

Qrow nodded and turned again, this time pressing himself in close to James. For James, all that Qrow's presence brought him was an awareness of the fact that there was so much wrong. And yet he was there and he was a direct line of heat beside James.

And now Qrow was leaning over James and staring down at him like there was something wrong with his face.

James couldn't help but wonder about Qrow's sudden need for this sort of closeness, and wasn't sure that he wanted to ask. Perhaps this was a case where it was better if he just placed space between the two of them and let things resolve as they did.

If James wanted to, he was sure that he could have sent Qrow back off to the guest room. Despite that, it managed to feel like that would have been too cruel for him to do to Qrow.

Instead, he allowed himself to stare up into Qrow's eyes searching for something that he wasn't quite able to name. Some emotion.

"Hello," James greeted Qrow, resting his head back in his pillow and when that wasn't comfortable, he moved an arm so that he could cushion himself on that. "Do you need something?"

"Nah." Qrow responded. James watched as the man's eyes flicked over his face. He really just wanted to know that everyone was okay, and Qrow was the one that was the closest to him. Both literally but also in the emotional, more abstract sense.

"So…"

"I wanted to know that you were okay." Qrow muttered, sitting up just slightly but not enough to put a significant amount of distance between the two of them. "After today."

James quirked an eyebrow, unsure of what he wanted to say to Qrow after that. There was something that he needed to say, and yet that wasn't it.

"Move." James asked, and Qrow followed just as easily. He leaned back into the space beside James. For James, he could finally feel like he could breathe again as he forced himself upright and stretched.

"What's up?" Qrow asked, flopping back against the headboard with a quiet thump. "Because-"

"I don't want you to keep asking me these things." James said, and all that he could do was hope that he didn't end up throwing Qrow off in the process. "It feels like this relationship isn't even, and that's-"

Qrow stared at him, his expression confused. James wished that he knew what he was supposed to say to that, but he just needed to get all of this off of his chest and it wasn't going to be easy. James knew that all too well. "Jim?"

James swallowed hard. "It's just not how it should be." He finally said, but he wasn't able to make himself relax at all. "I want this to work out, but I don't know that this is going to be be that way if..." James stopped himself, remembering his priorities.

At the end of the day, this was all supposed to end as soon as the job was finished. Once that happened it was going to be hard, but James needed to cut Qrow off. He needed to cut him off, but it was too late because the connection already had developed nerve endings.

Ultimately, James didn't know what was going to be harder for him. Whether or not he was going to have a harder time stepping away from Qrow or whether or not getting divorced was harder.

For some reason, it felt like the shorter lived relationship was going to end up being the one that tore him apart.

That was something that Qrow did really need to be aware of. He needed to know that the two of them were on even grounds. He stared Qrow down and felt his mouth go dry as he searched for the words that didn't come easily.

Finally, James allowed himself to speak.

"I just can't stop thinking about how we're so close to this all ending." James finally admitted, his voice going quiet even though that wasn't exactly what he wanted to do or say. It wasn't exact enough, it ignored too many layers of the problem at hand. "Either by us doing this job right, or by something happening."

"Well, yeah." Qrow said, looking away from James and sitting up properly on the bed now, crossing his legs under him as he made an attempt to make himself a little bit more comfortable. "You haven't been the only one thinking about that stuff, you know that."

"I don't know that I do." James finally said, all too quiet. "I feel like..." He didn't know. There weren't really words for what James was really thinking and feeling. "I need to know that you and I are going to be in a good place after this."

Qrow blinked, and he didn't look like he believed anything that James was saying. James wished that was something that didn't surprise him at all, or that it would have been enough to calm him down. "I don't know if we will be, Jim." Qrow said finally, his voice harsh and quiet in so many different ways. "You know that you've been talking about how we need to go our separate ways, like that's the only way that we can really deal with all of this and I don't know that's the solution that we should be looking for."

Qrow's words were intense, and they managed to strike to James as true as Qrow probably intended. That was a pain that James didn't want to suffer with. But this was an important talk, and if it went poorly...

Well, he would mourn and move on. It was probably better for him if he did his best to just be a parent to Penny instead of fooling around with Qrow on the side anyways. That way he could at least make sure that he was getting things done and taking care of his daughter.

Qrow was superfluous. At least, that's what James wanted to be able to think and feel.

"I know." James mumbled. "Qrow, I want to be able to have more but I don't know how to explain how hard this is."

"Do you?" Qrow practically snapped, leaning in towards James. "Because on my end it feels like you're constantly just looking for ways that you could get rid of me after this." He paused, blinking. "I get that you're afraid of things going wrong once we're out. Every connection is a potential way that someone can get caught or thrown into prison. I know that."

Qrow leaned in towards James far enough that their faces were nearly touching. He blinked and narrowed his eyes, making himself seem as intense as possible. "But I don't think that it will matter if you cut me off if things are going to happen like that."

If there were words that he could have said, James couldn't think of a single one that he could use. None of them were going to ever be enough, none of them were going to be able to still his heart in his chest or numb his nerves before they could get to be any worse than they already were.

"I know." James finally said, and really, he did know. He couldn't pretend like he didn't know the stakes. If one of them got caught, there were more than enough connections that someone could theoretically trace one to all of the others.

It would take work, but it was possible.

"You know." Qrow repeated, sounding a little bit baffled by James' words. "That's it, you know?"

James exhaled slowly, doing his absolute best to be able to calm himself down for the time being. "Yes." He said finally. This wasn't going well, and James was more than well aware of it. For now, he needed to let Qrow go ahead and lead though. That was going to be the only way that he was going to be able to keep everything calm. "I do."

Qrow stared at him, his brow furrowing. He leaned in even further, his nose actually managing to nudge against James'. "So then why are you so dedicated to cutting me off the second that this is all over with?"

"Because this can go wrong." James finally said quietly. "There are just so many ways that this can go wrong and at the end of the day, you aren't my priority."

"I know." Qrow muttered, his voice touched with anger. "But that doesn't make it any better."

"I don't want to do this."

"Then don't." Qrow repeated. "If you don't have to cut me off, then don't do it. You and I can find a way to make this all work and you know it."

James grimaced, closing his eyes and doing his best to ignore the closeness. He wanted to be able to forget that the two of them were so close that it was like Qrow was falling into him. He wanted to try and avoid pressing a kiss to Qrow's lips that was very obviously meant to be a goodbye of sorts.

"I don't know that I can." James finally mumbled, doing his best to move away Qrow in an attempt to calm down. Qrow didn't allow for it, and just followed closely after him. "I like you a lot, Qrow. But I can't put my daughter in a position where she won't have a father again."

The entire room nearly stopped with that. Qrow went all quiet and James felt the shift of the bed as the thinner man pulled away from him just slightly in an attempt to calm himself down as well. "Again." Qrow repeated the word, almost dumbly. "That's how you think of it, isn't it?"

"It's how it was." James offered, because that was all that he could really do. "I didn't have any presence in my daughter's life aside from being a warm body in a hospital bed." He sucked in a deep breath and forced himself to relax a little bit more. Not enough. It was never enough. "I can't put her in that position again, regardless of how it's done."

James couldn't ignore the small part of him that insisted ever so prominently that he was talking in circles. It was an argument that he'd put forward a hundred times, and no matter how many times he tried to stop, it didn't work. It didn't help. And James didn't know that he was actually going to be able to present a changed version of that narrative at any time.

He closed his eyes and fought everything in himself to calm down those little edges of frustration that were slicing so deeply into his nerves and leaving him unsure of where to go.

Qrow was quiet for far too long, and then he finally spoke, and he was quiet. He was direct. He sounded almost like he was going for a kill despite the fact that there was no violence here and all of the anger was being kept under the surface for the most part.

"You can still have that." Qrow said finally, bringing his hands up in front of him and gesturing in a way that almost made it look like he was holding something in them. "If you wanted to, you could have everything and…" he paused. "It feels more like you're just afraid to do that, Jimmy."

And really, that was a thing that James couldn't deny.

He was afraid. He was so beyond afraid afraid that there was no way to get back from it.

He couldn't even bring himself to scold Qrow for the use of the nickname that he hated so deeply.

James closed his eyes. He was going to have to work through some things later on, but for now, it was up to him to just work through a conversation with Qrow. Logic and parsing out what he wanted was going to have to wait for later.

It would have to come in a time where emotions weren't there to cloud his mind and make it worse.

"I am." James admitted. "I want everyone to get out of this unscathed, and my daughter is my priority."

"It just feels like you could have it all." Qrow mumbled. "What happens when we go on this job? We're going to do it, we go back to the warehouse and that's it? Everyone sees you for one more meeting, and then you're out of our lives forever?"

"That's... the plan." James replied, unable to hide his hesitation. He didn't allow himself to open his eyes, for he could already feel them burning as he got ready to break down or cry. "I know that it isn't ideal."

"That's one way to put it." Qrow scoffed. Without any warning, he rolled and climbed out of the bed, stalking across James' bedroom in a way that reminded James of a fight with Laurel when he'd been younger. "Jim, that's a terrible way to do this."

"I know." James managed to get the words out, but his voice broke at barely above a whisper. "Qrow, we just have to do this and then..." He let out a shaky breath. "I don't want to cut everyone off. You don't understand that, I don't want to lose any of you, but I am so afraid that i will end up hurting people if I stay close to you."

There was a long silence where James couldn't think of any reason that Qrow had gone so quiet. There was no indication that the man had left, and when James let himself open his eyes, he saw that Qrow was standing there at the edge of his bed and exhausted.

His eyes were wet, and that was perhaps the most telling thing.

James had really messed up.

He sat upright and tried to ignore some of the pain that was beginning to spark up in his shoulder. It was going to have to be a problem for later, because now James needed to deal with the fact that he had upset Qrow.

"Qrow-"

"What is wrong with you?"

"Qrow, I didn't..." James took a deep breath. "This was a bad idea."

"This was a bad idea?"

"Yes!" James responded, carding a hand through his hair a little too roughly. "ALl of this was a bad..." he shook his head. "I let myself get attached to you, and I'm sorry for that." James took two steps back. "I think that you should..."

Leave. Go to the guest room. Forget about me.

James let out a heavy sigh. "Can I just have some space for a little while?"

Qrow blinked and nodded, clamping his mouth back shut. He just turned away from James, grabbed his bag, and then he left the room so that he could go somewhere else in the building.

"You're a bastard, James Ironwood." Qrow hissed the words from the fame, and James couldn't help but wince. In the morning, he was going to be sure to ask Qrow if he wanted a ride back to Vale.

He'd fucked up. James was sure of it.

He sat there on the bed and murmured "I know" as Qrow left him behind, and James wished that he was able to actually ignore all of this and move on with his life.

Instead, he found himself staying up all night unable to relax and unable to breathe.

This was only going to get worse and worse and worse. James had effectively broken the most meaningful relationship in his life that wasn't the one he had with his daughter.

This was something that he wasn't going to be able to stop forgetting anytime soon.

It was all going to come down to when the job was finished. After that, James was going to have to be able to put together the things that he needed to move on with his life.

If Qrow was going to be part of that or not was going to remain in the question for a long time, James was sure of it. That didn't mean that he wanted to deal with this either way.

But the world would spin onwards, and James would eventually find himself awake on the day of the job, unsure of himself and afraid of what was going to happen after that.


	85. Game Day

Qrow was _tired_.

It felt like the last few months of his life had all but entirely been dominated by radio static that never seemed to go away. It would get quieter or louder, but it was never completely silent, and Qrow was glad to know that soon it was going to be gone.

But nevertheless, as he dressed himself at four in the morning, Qrow was exhausted. That partially came from the fact that he hadn't slept well and that it was so early in the morning, but it also had to deal with the emotional side of things. The distance from James had been a problem, among other things.

James had offered him a ride back to Vale if he wanted it. Qrow could have taken it, but he'd decided to turn it down in the hopes that he could get back in on James' good side.

Not that it had mattered. Things felt just as cold as they had before.

And now, it was the day of the job, and Qrow was going to have _a lot_ to worry about. He had to consider that James wasn't going to want anything to do with him outside of work. He also had to keep in mind the possibility that everything was going to go terribly and fall apart that day and that there was absolutely nothing that Qrow was going to be able to do about it for the most part.

It was a lot of stress, and it was all crashing down on top of Qrow at once.

So he dressed himself. Pulled on the set of civilian clothes that he'd selected days before for this job in particular, and tried hard not to think about how awful it was going to be wearing a uniform on top of it later.

Terrible. Uncomfortable. Too hot for the season. Too easy to give away everything that they were doing.

Qrow stared himself down, picked a hand up, and pushed his hair out of his face because he didn't need any more grooming than that.

Gametime.

He stepped out into the hallway and saw that James had already gotten up. Qrow suspected that James had already decided to get up that morning to make coffee and was probably drowning himself under a mixture of work and pure, concentrated caffeine.

The scent of coffee wafting up from the kitchen was enough of a confirmation.

Qrow went down and found that James was there in the kitchen, sitting at the counter with a map open in front of him and looking like he was dead on his feet.

Things were going to get harder as the day went on, Qrow knew.

But going on without saying a word to James wasn't going to help with anything.

"Morning." Qrow greeted the other man as he walked into the kitchen so that he could pour himself a mug. "How's work looking so far?"

"It's work." James responded, and Qrow already felt like that was going to be as casual as the two of them were going to be able to get. Surprisingly, he was able to hear the sound of James folding his map shut and setting it down on the counter. "Nothing of particular interest yet."

"That's too bad." Qrow said, even though he didn't know if that was the right reaction that he could have had to James' words. "Think this is going to go well?"

"No." James mumbled. "But I haven't been sure about this job for a while."

Qrow took the seat next to James and did his best to make himself comfortable. This was going to be a long day, the least that he could do for himself was try to relax. Sleep was going to have to come later on that day, when he got home and would be able to just crash somewhere comfortable.

If he was lucky, James would let the two of them crawl in together again. Qrow wasn't counting on it, though.

"I know." Qrow said, shrugging. "We're going to make it through this, Jimmy. Just trust me and... everyone else. Even if that includes Ozpin. We have to."

James stared him down, and now that Qrow was getting a direct look at the mans' face he was realizing that james was just as exhausted as he was. There were bags under his eyes, and he somehow managed to look much older than he did at any other time. Qrow couldn't help but worry over that. He was willing to put money on the chance that James hadn't slept at all the night before.

How long had James spent there in the kitchen drinking coffee and obsessing over work?

"I know." James replied. "We're just in for a hard day."

Qrow blinked and looked at James. "We'll get through it."

James didn't say anything, and Qrow could practically hear the crickets in the room. They weren't going to get anywhere by just sitting around and talking, that was obvious. James didn't want to talk to him, and Qrow was sure that was going to drive him mad over the course of the day.

The smaller man sighed and drank from his mug of coffee. It was warm and comforting, and Qrow realized that he might have miscounted the number of spoons of sugar that he'd added. It was too sweet.

James didn't say anything to him after a long moment. He just picked up his mug and his map, and made his way off to the office wordlessly.

Qrow sighed, because that was really how the day was going to go for them both.

This was the exact sort of treatment that Qrow didn't need that day. It was giving him one more thing to worry about in a time where Qrow really didn't need it.

Maybe if he got a chance he could slip off with Roman and he'd be able to just vent for a while. Roman wasn't just a good listener- he knew enough about the bullshit that Qrow dealt with that he'd understand.

And if he didn't have the time, then Qrow was going to be able to manage. It was just going to be a very, very long day.

In the end, he found himself sitting there at James' counter for several hours until James finally came out, dressed, ready, and with two duffel bags slung over his shoulder.

"Qrow." James said, drawing his attention. "Are you ready?"

Qrow blinked and sighed, standing up. "We should stick to codenames."

"Later." James responded. " _Scarecrow_."

"Right." Qrow replied, following after James until the two of them were in the car and on their way to the warehouse so that they could get things started.

As Qrow had expected, the place was empty when he and James arrived. It would figure that James would go out of his way to make sure that they were both their obnoxiously early, too. James didn't say so much as a word to Qrow as he got out and approached front door of the warehouse, opening it and heading inside.

Qrow, realizing that he wasn't going to have many options in this decided to follow James in.

What the two of them were immediately met with was a completely filled warehouse, and there at the front was the ultimate prize of their plans.

Qrow figured that there had to be something wrong with the truck that would have caused it to be decommissioned. It was much larger than he had imagined it would be, and now that he was able to see it in person Qrow was glad that he'd managed to get himself taken off of driving duty. He wasn't so sure what he would have had to deal with if he hadn't managed that.

Driving a limo had been hard enough. This would have been something else entirely and Qrow was very glad he didn't have anything to do with it.

James looked at him, and then at the truck before letting out a quiet breath that sounded like it was nothing more than pure relief.

"They got it." James stated, his voice mostly quiet. He sounded at least partially amazed by the new revelation. "This is really happening."

"Yeah." Qrow murmured, stepping up next to James. "I guess it is."

James hesitated, and he reached out, brushing his gloved fingertips over the hood of the truck, contemplating it. This was exactly as huge as had been predicted, Qrow realized. It was the final confirmation that things were going to be able to go according to Plan A.

It was quiet, and then James looked back over at him. "You're ready, right?"

"I dunno." Qrow said, walking forward towards the truck and looking up at it. "I figure that we're in for a long day and this starts here."

"it does." James confirmed. "When the others get here there's still going to be a lot of work for us to do. We need to make sure that the cars are going to be planted around the city, and that all of them are equipped for the day."

"Bags are already here?" Qrow asked, looking James in the eyes. There was no way that James hadn't been spending his time when Qrow had been away to try and make sure that he had everything that they could have possibly imagined in order. That was just how James _was._

"They are." James replied, gesturing towards the back of the warehouse where a large plastic table had been set up. Sure enough, there was a large array of bags and equipment all laid out there, waiting to be taken and assigned to vehicles. "They should be labelled according to what we have to do today."

"Good." Qrow said, going to the back and looking for the bag that would be labelled with his own name. "I'm nervous."

"We all are." James mumbled, stepping away from the van and beginning to walk from car to car to car in an attempt to check that all of them were in order. He was kicking the tires on each one, then leaning in and checking that the engine sounded right before turning off each car.

Making sure to hit all of the bases, Qrow realized. He couldn't help but wonder how many times James had done the same thing before that day. How many times had James tried to make sure that the cars were going to be working before they went into work?

Qrow had a sinking feeling that this was just the first time for the day. It was only going to get worse and worse and worse.

The good thing, Qrow thought as he turned away from the table and looked among the cars, was that there was some variation in them. The plan had probably been for the cars to be identical originally, because that meant that it would be easier for them to blend into each other.

But instead, the cars were different. Each of them unique in their nature and each one looking like it was just a normal civilian's car. Dents and all, the kind of dents that would get there because of a shopping cart crashing into the side, or from hitting a snowbank.

That was good. It was beyond good. It meant that they had a way to keep themselves a little bit safer when things began to fall apart. Qrow was going to be able to take his car, blend into traffic, and be out of the way before he was even in danger.

It was almost enough to make him stop thinking about the fact that every one of these cars was probably loaded with enough explosive material to destroy half a city block. It wasn't enough to make him forget that James had nearly lost his life because of this sort of thing.

So many ways to go to hell.

"Qrow?" James called to him, and Qrow had to blink before forcing himself to look over at the other man. "What is it?"

"Nothing." Qrow sighed, turning to face James and walking over to him, feeling mostly unsatisfied in the time being. "I was just thinking about all of this."

"I figured as much." James admitted, taking a seat on the hood of one of the cars. It was shiny, dark blue, the sort of car that would belong to some sort of business executive. It was so much like James, really. The perfect car. The perfect match. "I know this is hard."

"Yeah." Qrow said, hopping up onto the hood of the same car next to James. He felt their knees brush together but decided that it was for the best if he didn't mention it. If things were bad enough, then maybe they could talk about it.

But, as things stood, that was going to be for _after the job._

And after the job, Qrow was expecting to be excised from James' life like a tumor.

Nope. He definitely wasn't still bitter about it, there was no way that he was going to be able to forget about this later.

Qrow took a deep breath. "Any idea when everyone's going to be getting here?"

"They're supposed to be here soon." James admitted, sighing. "Seeing as they were all given a deadline to be here."

That just left Qrow with a lot of things that he definitely wanted to say, but he didn't want to say any of them at the same time. Not because he thought that it wasn't going to be kind, but just because James getting more wound up than he already was wouldn't be good for either of them. Qrow wasn't about to go pushing his luck for the sake of being a smart-ass.

Not worth it.

"Got it." Qrow mumbled. He scratched at his chin and did his best to focus on basically anything other than James' presence, but only found that it was difficult. A part of him screamed for a drink in his hand, for something to help ground him.

Also not helpful, Qrow thought as he quashed the urge.

James sighed and stretched just slightly. Qrow couldn't help but wonder whether or not James was making some attempt at quelling pain or anxiety. "I know that it's not ideal." James said, his voice quiet. "Any of this."

"Yeah, I know."

"I mean it, Qrow."

"I know." Qrow repeated.

And really, if there was a way for either of them to be any less forthcoming, Qrow was sure that one of them would have stumbled on it. James was a nervous wreck and doing his best to hide it. Qrow could still see it all though, in the nervous bob of James' adam's apple when he tried to swallow his fear.

This was going to be a mess. No matter what, it was going to be a mess.

Qrow swallowed and rubbed at the side of his head, tearing his gaze away from James before speaking up. "We just have to wait." Qrow said, hoping that it would be enough of a distraction. "After that, we just do it."

James turned where he was standing. His brow was furrowed and though he looked frustrated, his eyes were clear. "You know that it isn't as simple as that." He said, sighing and slowly letting himself edge a little bit closer to Qrow. It was enough to make Qrow's heart feel like it had jumped in his chest.

Something akin to hope gripped Qrow, and despite the fact that this was all going to end soon, that that sort of thought was dangerous, Qrow wanted to sink into James nonetheless.

The closing of distance was a relief that shouldn't have come so easily.

"I know." Qrow replied, dropping his hands down by his sides and letting himself draw in a little bit closer to James. "But it doesn't do us any good worrying."

"We need to-"

"Jimmy." Qrow cut James off, reached up, and cupped the taller man's cheek so that he could turn James' attention on him.

Unsurprisingly, James went completely silent, like Qrow had somehow managed to stop the world. Qrow stared up into James' eyes and watched ass his cheeks began to redden with embarrassment.

"Qrow." James said, keeping his voice down and averting his eyes away from Qrow. "What are you-"

"Just listen." Qrow replied. "This is going to be a long day for us. For all of us. You've done everything that needed to be done before this job starts, you know that?" He paused, trying to figure out the best way to explain himself to James. "All that we can do now is try to relax and let things play out."

James didn't say anything. He just closed his eyes and tilted his face away from Qrow. Qrow took the chance to move in a little bit closer to James and wrapped his arms around James' body. He was expecting for the other man to pull away from him, but instead James just sank into his touch.

The two of them might have stood there in relative silence for several minutes, but Qrow wasn't exactly paying the most attention to that. The only thing that told him that it was time to stop was the sound of the door opening.

James jerked away from Qrow, and the two of them were presented with the sight of Roman in the doorway with a tray of steaming coffee in his hands.

"Hello." Roman said, raising an eyebrow and making himself look thoroughly surprised by it all. "Was I interrupting something?"

"No." James said, before Qrow could get a chance to say something himself. It was almost a relief, but James took a few steps towards Roman. "You got coffee?"

"I figured it would be the nice thing to do." Roman commented, thrusting the tray out towards James. James just picked one of the cups up and turned it to find that it was labelled with his name. He paused and picked up a second one before nodding over towards Qrow.

Qrow approached James and took the cup of coffee. It was still warm, and a quick look at the side told him that Roman had somehow remembered his coffee order.

"Where's Junior?" Qrow asked, looking at the redhead.

"He's outside." Roman said with a slight shrug of his own. "Should be coming in a few minutes. Wanted a chance to make sure that our tracks were covered and all of that."

James nodded and walked over towards the door, stepping outside so that he could talk to Junior. Qrow wished that it was actually comforting, but it wasn't good enough.

Qrow looked at Roman. "How're you holding up?"

Roman sighed and shrugged, sipping his coffee. "Let me tell you, Qrow, it's really not that great right now. Junior's nervous, I'm nervous, we're lucky that the girls are with Grandma Xiong today because otherwise... let me tell you."

And god, how Qrow wished that any of it surprised him. None of it could, not when everything was a complete mess and they were all possibly looking at the last day of each of their lives.

It only served to remind Qrow of how bad things were. It left him tha heaping pile of regrets because of the things that he had failed to do before leaving James' house that morning. He hadn't gotten to say goodbye to his family. There was no last " _I love yous_ " set aside for Ruby or Yang, or Tai or Summer. There was no chance to get true closure with his sister.

Hell, he hadn't even gotten a chance to say some things that he desperately wanted to say to James before this could all end. He should have been there doing so much more for him. He should have used those last few days to be useful rather than spend them in nearly complete radio silence.

What was wrong with him?

"I can imagine." Qrow murmured over the lip of his coffee cup. "I mean, I know Jimmy's been out of it for sure, and I'm scared shitless." He paused, looking at Roman and pausing when he saw the redhead's face.

The veneer of confidence that Roman usually wore had once again managed to crack and fall apart. This time, Qrow wasn't sure that Roman was going to be able to rebuild his persona in time.

Roman nodded though, his gaze far away. "Hear anything from Winter or Glynda?"

"Nothing." Qrow sighed. "Ozpin dropped in on James a lot, but I've even been getting silence from them ever since the meeting."

"Shit." Roman muttered. "Do you think that they would drop out on us like that, or-"

"Nah." Qrow answered, even though it was something that he wasn't actually all that sure about at all. The truth was that he didn't trust Ozpin at all, and he wasn't sure that anyone else really did for the most part. There were too many ways that Ozpin were able to make things fall apart, and Qrow tried not to think about them all too much.

It could only get worse.

"You think so?" Roman asked, blinking and staring him down. "Because I don't know that I trust them."

"I don't trust Oz much either." Qrow sighed, pausing. "But I don't know whether or not I actually want to deal with worrying so much anymore. I mean..." He blinked and finally the main reason that he trusted Ozpin not to ruin them came to mind.

"Well, what good does it do for them if they leave us to fend for ourselves?"

They both went completely silent over that question, and Qrow wasn't surprised by it at all.

Roman stared down at the lip of his coffee cup, running his thumb over the plastic covering as he thought. Finally he sighed and let himself speak up. "It doesn't do them any good," He said finally. "They know that we're banking on them, and if they're going to get anything out of this they need to be there, don't they?"

"Exactly." Qrow sighed, pushing away from Roman. He stretched and sipped from his coffee a little bit deeper, feeling the warmth beginning to flow through his body. He wished that he knew what the others were doing, but Qrow figured that James also needed his space right then.

Everything would come together in due time. Qrow was sure of it. They just had to be patient, that was the ekey.

That and good evasive driving, probably.

Relying on evasive driving really put a bad taste in Qrow's mouth. He'd heard too many horror stories from this group alone at this point. There was no way that he was just going to be able to go ahead and just… ignore that.

"We'll get through it." Qrow stated, feeling more like he was talking to the wind than he was talking to anyone in particular. That wasn't a good feeling either, it was more just a reminder of how wrong everything was. "Ozpin will show up and they'll do their job."

"Indeed." A voice called from the door, and Qrow stepped away from Qrow to see that Ozpin had finally made an appearance, and had apparently arrived at the same time as Glynda and Winter. That wasn't worth reading into, was it?

Probably not.

But for now Qrow needed to pull his head together and put on a brave face. Play along like nothing was wrong.

"Hey, Oz." Qrow greeted them, shrugging and shoving his hands down deep into his pocket. "Come here often?"

Ozpin raised an eyebrow and shot Qrow a weary smile. "It would appear as much." They commented, taking a few steps inside and seeming to relax as they got a good look around the space where they were going to be meeting. "Has everyone arrived?"

"We have." James announced, stepping inside with Junior at his back. Winter and Glynda streamed in, and finally Qrow found himself staring among all of them.

This was it. They were all there, not it was just going to be a waiting game until it was finally time for them all to go to work.

"Good." Ozpin replied, smiling as they looked between the cars. "Now that we're all accounted for, should we do a meeting or just get to work?"

"We should get to work." James said, his voice too calm. He stepped into the center of the warehouse, and drew all of the eyes onto him. Qrow couldn't help the feeling down in his stomach that told him that months ago James would have hated this. He would have gotten nervous about the fact that people were staring at him, and seeing him now well...

It was almost like seeing someone else entirely, or at least someone that had been in hiding for some time.

The name General was rarely so fitting.

James turned his eyes on to Ozpin, Glynda, and Winter first. "Glynda and Winter, you two should prepare your car and get ready to go out and do your job." He said calmly before focusing on Ozpin. "Are you going to be able to be their eyes?"

"Of course." Ozpin said, smiling as they walked across the warehouse and found one of the tables. Qrow watched as they began to clear it off before Ozpin walked to one of the cars and removed a large parcel from the trunk.

That was new, Qrow thought as he watched Ozpin set up a laptop and began to boot it up. "I've been working on making sure that I will be able to interfere with the cameras before we get to work."

"Good." James sighed, looking between the two women. "I'll be relying on you two to remain in close contact with everyone over the course of the day." He raised his voice a little bit before deciding to continue. "I'll need all of you keeping close attention to radios once we split." James announced to the room. "I shouldn't have to remind any of you what happens if we lose contact."

"Friendly fire." Junior filled in the blank, managing to sound bored the entire time. "Correct?"

"Precisely." James replied, reaching up to adjust his neckline. "I want to see regular status reports from all sides as the day goes. Remember your codenames, and remember to be as discreet as you can be. Any questions?"

The answer wasn't as forthright as it could have been, mostly coming as a series of mumbled confirmations, but based on the way that James nodded along over it that was more than good enough.

"Good." James said, looking to everyone and waving towards the cars. Everyone understood, and Qrow watched as they all approached them and began to move things around as each and every one of them fell into line in preparation for a job ahead of them.

Qrow stood back and out of the way, mostly unsure of what he was supposed to do. It was simple, get a car and go out and plant it somewhere nice. But for now, he wanted quiet.

Silently, he slipped over and stood next to James, who didn't say anything to him and just decided to stare straight ahead in search of something that Qrow couldn't quite name.

James looked over at him and sighed. "Are you going to be able to do this?" James asked, his voice all hard and unbreaking. Based on the look on James' face, Qrow wasn't sure that it was an act that was going to end up lasting as long as James hoped. It was a mess.

All of this was a mess.

Qrow nodded, not feeling confident in his response at all. James just forced on a smile and nodded, stepping away and heading over towards the table of bags so that he could do his job.

When he watched James pick up two duffel bags and move them over to the security van, Qrow felt his stomach flip. It was just yet another reminder of how many ways things were going t be able to fall apart.

That was the one thing that he wasn't going to be able to forget.

No matter how hard they tried, and how much work was dedicated to it, there was always going to be that chance that someone got seriously hurt, or killed.

The worst part was that Qrow was certain that there wasn't so much as a single person there in that warehouse that wasn't aware of that fact.

Somehow, he felt like he was the most aware of the possibility of all. He hated it through and through.

He forced himself to focus on his job instead.


	86. Carry Out

The cars had been scattered, everyone was ready, and James could feel his heart beating so violently against his chest that there was a part of him that was sure that he was about to suffer a heart attack or _something_. It wasn't going to happen and James knew that it wasn't going to happen, and yet he was afraid because his nerves were clinging to him too violently.

Somehow, most of the day had managed to pass him by in a relative blur. He knew that things had happened. He knew that everything was in order for work, and that they were going to be safe once it was time to finally go out into the field. He knew that he and Qrow had talked about something for a little while, and that he'd gotten a few minutes to exchange words with Ozpin with regards to the job.

James even knew for a fact that people had been sent off on their separate ways as had been necessary that day.

So now, while he sat in the back of a false armored vehicle, checking his supplies and his gun over and over again in search of _anything_ that could have been wrong with it. It was the same as always- unloaded and trustworthy in his hand. It didn't do anything to anchor him. James still felt all but completely disconnected from everything that was happening around him.

Qrow was sat his side, and occasionally the two of their knees would knock together. If somehow managed to make James feel a little bit more grounded in reality, but at the same time, it just jolted him into alertness every time. James couldn't calm down, not really. Not with a thousand _what ifs_ running through his head at any given moment.

Roman and Junior were in the front of the car, and James was sure that the two of them were talking amongst themselves, probably trying to keep the both of them calm.

James felt his phone vibrate against his leg, and when he checked it he saw that it was a message from Ozpin, stating clearly that the real delivery van was on the way. That was big, James knew. That meant that they were going to have to be ready to leave soon.

It was going to depend on what happened with Glynda and Winter.

But James needed to do his job and keep the others informed. He stood up halfway, reaching out and bracing himself against the wall so that he couldn't fall before making his way to the front.

He knocked on the metal wall that kept him and Qrow away from the compartment where Roman and Junior were sitting. It wasn't a warning that needed to go very far, and so James was soon to open the door and look between the two men.

"News from the Wizard." James said, keeping his voice as hard as possible and his tone as no-nonsense as ever. "The van's on the way. We're going to move out once we hear from Witch and Maiden, understood?"

"Got it, General." Roman replied, shifting nervously in his seat and drumming on the steering wheel with his fingers. "We'll be ready for it."

"Good." James replied, slipping back out of view and closing the door behind him before looking at Qrow. "Are you ready?"

"Sure am, General." Qrow answered, shifting in his seat just as nervously as Roman had. Neither of them were ready for it, none of them were. It was just going to be a matter of seeing how this went once it got going.

"Good." James said, seating himself once again and going back to attending to his supplies for the day. Gun was ready, he had his bag for transporting money ready, he had clothes already set aside so that he could change the second that it was necessary. The door between where he and Qrow were and where Roman and Junior were was probably going to end up being a lifesaver later on, James was sure of that.

It was just a matter of seeing how things went, James thought as he double checked and triple checked his bag. He needed to calm down, James knew that. If he felt that he could trust himself to do this job right while he was medicated, James would have, but for now...

Well, it just wasn't that easy.

"General?" Qrow's voice called to him, but it somehow managed to feel like Qrow was a thousand miles away in that moment. James didn't know what to say, instead just messing with the things that he had until the job started for real.

"James?" Qrow asked again, in a breach of protocol.

That was enough to get his attention. James picked his head up and stared across the space in the back of the truck to see how Qrow was.

He was sitting there, looking far too calm for someone in the situation that the two of them were in. Qrow was in his uniform, and he looked like he was ready. He sure as hell seemed like he was more ready for whatever was to come than James was.

"Yes?" James asked, swallowing hard and trying to get his nerves back under control. "What is it?"

"Are you going to be okay?" Qrow asked, cocking his head to the side as he watched him. "Because if you aren't going to be able to do this..."

"I'm going to be fine," James answered. "I'm just preparing myself for once we start."

"Well, you've got to get it under control." Qrow said, shrugging and leaning against the back wall of the van. Things were wrong, there were so many ways that it could go wrong, and somehow Qrow managed to be completely oblivious.

From where James was, that was how it seemed, at the very least.

"I'll be able to-" James was cut off by the sensation of his phone vibrating against his leg, and he nearly jolted at the sensation. He was quick to pull it out and check what was there, and when he saw, his stomach nearly dropped out of him entirely. "Time to go." James snapped, cutting off his original thought right there.

"Shit, really?"

"Yes." James snapped, pounding on the door to the front and shouting. "Winter got her part done and made the call. Van's on the move and Glynda's doing her job. We need to _move!_ "

"Got it!" Roman called back from the other side of the door. James was barely seated again when the van began to move, and he had to brace himself to keep from falling.

It was time. This was going to happen, and it was going to be up to him to make sure that they had everything in order that they could have possibly needed to worry about.

The van set into motion, and James just moved towards the furthest part of the back of the van so that he could see what was going on outside. This was just something that he could do to keep a close eye on everything. James had his doubts that it would matter much.

Nothing was following them or paying attention to what they were up to, and that was all that James could do while they moved. He needed to be able to do his job, and prepare himself.

When they arrived at the bank, James had more than enough reason to suspect that it was going to be up to him to do all of the talking. He took his time, getting his things together, and when they finally pulled up to the bank, there were already guards standing there at the ready for whatever was to come.

James looked at Qrow and nodded. Qrow understood easily enough it seemed, based on the way that he took the chance to move some things out of the way so that they wouldn't be so obviously out of place. Once they were parked, there was a nervous sound before James let out a quiet sigh and spoke, keeping his voice as far down as he possibly could.

"Showtime."

The door opened and James and Qrow climbed out, mimicking how things had gone when they'd watched the drop off on their reconnaissance trip.

Just as expected, there were already two guards there waiting for them, and James was careful to pick up a clipboard full of fabricated documents as he and Qrow climbed out.

The two guards cocked their heads a little bit over their arrival, but soon the one that seemed to be in control just shrugged and took a step forward. "You boys here for the pickup?"

"We are." James confirmed, passing over the clipboard.

The man took the clipboard and looked down at it, his eyes scanning over line after line as he tried to figure out whether everything was in order. James felt his nerves getting worse and worse as they waited, because he was just left wondering whether or not the paperwork that they'd brought was legitimate.

Based on the way that the bank representative began to scribble down information on it, Ozpin had done very well on making sure that things looked as legitimate as possible. James and Qrow waited there for a few minutes before the clipboard was passed back to James and James just flipped through it, checking to see that everything was in order.

Not that he really needed it to be, he just needed to make sure that things were convincing.

"You aren't the usual guys that come and do this." One of the guards laughed, shrugging and moving back towards the door so that he could pull it open. "Something happen at the office?"

"Nah," Qrow laughed. "We're just new transfers."

"Ah," The man said, smiling widely. "Welcome to Atlas then! Follow us and we'll get you out of here before there can be any trouble."

Those words were enough to make James' hair stand up on end. It sounded like this man was expecting that there was going to be something going wrong that way, but James doubted that. If anything, it was just a joke with regards to the nature of the work that they had to do.

"Of course." James said, taking the lead and following Qrow inside as the four of them made their way back to the vaults. This was the part that James had to worry about the most, because he and Qrow hadn't exactly been able to see what was going on inside of the building from James' car.

The walk back to the vault was something that took a while, with them passing through several security checks. James had to hope that everything was going to be fine as they walked through the building. Ozpin was going to check in with them the second that something was going wrong, James could trust in that.

Really, they were probably watching everything that happened in real time, and that was a relief in itself. James could hold onto that as something to make it all okay.

The vault was there, and James had more or less known what they would have to encounter. He'd partially been expecting a situation where they would end up locked out of it, not a smooth transfer like they had so far.

It was going to fall apart at some point, that was something that James was fairly confident about. It was just a matter of when.

Qrow let out a low whistle when he saw the vault, and James almost wanted to slap him for it. That was just one way that things could start to fall apart more. James was mostly glad that they weren't in a situation where he and Qrow were being forced into having to do a lot of small talk.

Waiting by the vault there was a thin, tall man, with greying hair and a thick mustache that covered a shrewd face. If James had to guess, this was the Arthur Watts that Ozpin had mentioned in their briefing with regards to this job. The man looked them over, like he was searching for something that James couldn't place.

It was the first time that James realized that it was entirely likely that their job was up. If anyone was going to realize that something was wrong, it was probably him.

Watts didn't say anything to them, he just turned and opened the door to the vault, standing by it as he watched James and Qrow step inside.

James did everything in his power to be able to control his immediate reaction to the sights inside of the vault. He'd never seen so much money in one place, not in cash at the very least. It wasn't as though he had never seen a lot of money, James got paid highly for his work normally.

But there was something to be said for standing in a room where the walls were literally stacked high with money. It was something that most experiences wouldn't be able to even begin to touch.

There's an honest urge that tells James that he could just stand there and bask in the room for a while. Drench himself in the feeling of everything that he was supposed to be and everything that his job was meant to entail. He could absolutely have done so, if not for the fact that there were much more serious, more pressing things to attend to.

First and foremost of those being that this was a robbery at the end of the day, and they needed to be able to get away without too much incidence if possible.

The good thing is that the process of removing money from a vault is surprisingly straightforward. Once the dye packs are removed (and oh, is James grateful that that isn't something that they have to worry about) and the cash is piled onto their hand trucks Qrow and James are able to just carry the money out.

There's little debate about how much needs to be taken. All of that had been filled out on Ozpin's falsified paperwork, and when James does the mental math on it the numbers do add up to equal the amounts promised.

It's encouraging, if nothing else.

Somehow (and James isn't quite sure _how_ ) he and Qrow are able to get everything in place, and then the truck is moving and James is working to rip himself out of his false uniform and get the money into some of the bags.

It was too easy.

That's all that there was to it, this was going too well.

There had to be a catch.

As it turned out, there was a catch.

James didn't like that he ended up being correct in his feeling that the robbery had gone too easily when they'd left the bank.

The news that the police had been called on them didn't come until all of the money had been loaded into their bags, and James, Qrow, Roman, and Junior were all preparing to take what they had and move.

James' phone had vibrated in his pocket, a message from Ozpin to just let them know that the call had been made. Apparently Watts had realized that something was wrong and made the call once James and Qrow were out of the bank. Apparently there had been a desire for a lack of bloodshed on the man's end.

But now, that put them in a very delicate situation because they were going to have to deal with the fact that the police were now, apparently, on their tails and looking for a delivery truck. Whether or not Winter and Glynda had managed to get away from their assignment James wasn't sure about, but he couldn't allow himself to focus on that as the truck was abandoned and began to hurdle down towards the river, the same way that their limousine had months ago.

James set a mental note to be sure to blast the truck to heaven as soon as all of them were away from it. That would at the very least be able to distract from the chase, and destroy any evidence. Included in that were the false uniforms that they had all been wearing.

The four of them walked on the hill, splitting off in their separate directions as they made their ways over towards where the cars were. James knew where his was- half a block away, parked out of the way, and waiting. He wouldn't be noticed as he got into the damn thing, and that was about all that he could hope for.

After that, all that James could hope for was that they were all going to be able to get back to the warehouse.

Qrow fell into step beside him.

"I hate this."

"Me too." James grumbled, shouldering his bag to make sure that it didn't become too much of a strain. He tried not to think about how much money was in it, because it was going to be bad if he let himself concentrate on it. If something went wrong, then James wasn't going to be able to forget about it.

"Think we're going to do this?"

"Yes." James replied, shoving a hand down into his pocket to double check that he had the remote for the truck. "You know what you need to do, Qrow. Get in your car, drive safely, and get out of the way. As soon as you're safe-"

"Ditch the car, play like a guy going to the gym on public transportation, and get to the warehouse, I know." Qrow repeated a plan that the two of them had talked about once or twice before when they'd had the chance. It was about the best that they could hope for, and James was glad for it. He needed to know that Qrow had a clear way to get out of this.

For James, he didn't know that it was going to be as easy as he wanted. It was just going to be a matter of seeing how it all goes.

"Good." James sighed. "Just make sure that you get there, Qrow."

"I will." Qrow grumbled, reaching into his pocket to find his keys and walking the way down to get to the vehicle. "See you on the other side, Jimmy."

James wanted to stop him. He wanted to tell Qrow not to use the nickname, that it wasn't necessary then. But something else came to mind instead. Something that he needed to say to make sure that he wasn't going to fall apart regardless.

"Qrow." James said, watching his friend walk towards the car and dump his bags into the passenger seat.

"Yeah, Jim?" Qrow asked, turning and facing him, seeming surprised by the fact that James had actually let himself pause for a moment. "What is it?"

James closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. "I need you to make it out of this, Qrow." James said quietly. "I love you."

It felt foreign to say those words to Qrow, but he needed it out there.

Qrow stared him down, his eyes widening for a moment as he tried to figure out what he wanted to say. But he closed his mouth and hardened his jaw, looking a little bit too scared before he spoke up. "Yeah," Qrow replied. "I love you too, Jim."

James felt a little bit warmer over that, and he kept it in mind. "I'll see you after this, Qrow." James forced a smile and turned, setting his way towards his car. He just needed to be able to avoid notice for a few minutes, and then he was going to have to be able to drive back to the warehouse.

To do that, he was going to have to be able to keep his head about him. Losing his focus or falling apart was going to be a problem. The last thing that he could deal with was a panic attack.

No, James told himself, don't focus on that sort of thing. It's not a good idea, it'll make things fall apart.

All that he had to do was do his job.

The others would be able to do the same- James could be absolutely confident in that.

He could trust in them. Qrow, Roman, Junior, Glynda, Winter, even Ozpin. When it came to work, James knew that he could trust them.

So he did his job.


	87. Don't Say It

After James left him behind, Qrow didn't have the time to check that he'd gotten away alright. He just reached into his bag and removed the two things that were in it that he was sure that he would need. The first was his burner phone because without it he didn't have a way to contact the others, and the second was the remote that was going to be used to detonate the package of C-4 that was strapped under the his fuel tank once it was time to clean up.

That was all that Qrow needed, he thought as he turned on the vehicle and pulled out of the space that he'd chosen earlier in the day. When he got on the road, Qrow found himself searching the roads in front of him to see where Roman and Junior had ended up. He didn't see either of their cars, and Qrow had to do his absolute best not to get tunnel vision on all of that.

He knew what he was going to have to do from then on out, and Qrow was dedicated to getting it done properly.

Qrow had to fight back the feelings that rushed over him. The ones that made him afraid, and made him want to turn around and go back to find James, the ones that made him feel like he was going to fall apart.

Not worth focusing on. He had work to do. He had to get to the warehouse, dodge the cops which were _apparently_ on their tails, and make sure that he was going to be able to go back to Vale and be there for his family.

For the first time he understood what James was worried about better than ever before.

Qrow fell into traffic though, and he hoped sincerely that it was going to be enough for him to avoid notice. The fact that they had spare getaway cars went a very long way.

His phone went off at his side, and when Qrow looked over he saw a message from Ozpin there waiting for him.

Apparently the first people had started to make their ways back to the warehouse. That wasn't much, but Qrow could work with it. It just meant that Winter and Glynda were both out of the way. They were safe, and that was what mattered.

He wanted to think that Ozpin was going to be able to divert attention away from them if they needed it. Ozpin was their eyes, they were the one that was probably going to be able to tap into the police radios if it was necessary. Maybe it would come into play, maybe not.

Either way, Qrow was afraid to find out how the rest of this would go.

The kid was safe. Glynda was safe.

Now it was only up to the rest of them to get back to the warehouse without notice.

Another message came in, this one from James. Qrow could practically feel his blood go cold in his veins as he read it over. Apparently they were seconds away from James blowing up the van, and that was all that they could do at that point.

Qrow didn't know why, because he was sure that he was going to be mostly out of the way when it happened, but he prepared himself for the explosion.

As it would turn out, he wasn't out of earshot, and the shock was enough to make it feel like the ground had quaked under him.

Despite the fact that the feeling was disoriented, Qrow did his absolute best to try and focus on the job. It wasn't worth it to let himself fall apart over something that had already been in the plans. Not when it had the chance of screwing them all over in the long run of things.

In the rear facing mirror, Qrow saw the slow rise of smoke, and the appearance of James' car pulling onto the road.

Police sirens were already starting to break through the sounds, and traffic was getting ready to shut down.

A part of Qrow wanted to drop the plan and follow what he could do get to the warehouse faster. He could just take the car, go off his own way, and get back before anyone could even see it. It was a matter of time before he found himself in a situation that was going to keep him from adhering.

Qrow knew what he needed to do, and that was just that he needed to get back to the warehouse.

No matter what, he wasn't going to be able to let his feelings get in the way. Not if he was afraid, not if he didn't know what was happening to his teammates, not if he didn't know whether or not all of them were making it back alive.

He pressed his foot down a little bit harder against the gas pedal, and Qrow grit his teeth. He could only go so fast before police noticed him. If they realized that he was carrying two large duffel bags full of cash, he was in deep shit. Assuming that nothing happened to the car itself and he got killed in the process.

If he got caught without that happening and they realized that he had an explosive device on his car and that he had a remote detonator for it also there with him in the front part of the car, then Qrow was going to be on a one-way trip to prison, no passing go, no collecting two hundred dollars.

And then it would only be a matter of time before the others were also forced to follow along in that.

Qrow wasn't going to be the one to compromise all of them.

So he did what he could. He forced himself to ignore his instincts, and drove according to the plan.

That meant that he wasn't letting himself worry about the shine of red and blue lights in his rearview mirror.

James was back there, a basic part of his mind suggested.

James was probably going to be the one to get into trouble.

Another message came in, from James sure enough.

The command was clear enough, and very clearly going out to all of them. Pure James.

 _No matter what happens, keep driving and get out._

It was an order that was more than enough to chill Qrow down to his bones.

James was making a _very_ tall order.

Qrow had to do everything in his power to fight back the worries and the anxieties. Focus on the road. If he got worried enough, he could turn on the radio and hope that the music would help. He was sure that it wouldn't.

So he drove. He drove with the traffic, doing his best to blend in and ignore the way that this had the possibility to get worse and worse and worse and worse. He forgot James, he forgot Roman, and Junior, and Glynda, and Winter. He forgot Ozpin and was glad to do it because that was what he needed to do.

For better or for worse, Qrow drove, and as he got closer and closer to his destination, he was horrified to watch the traffic spread out and get lesser and lesser.

There were still police on James' tail.

They were going to get caught unless something happened, but Qrow didn't know how James was going to be able to pull it off.

Or maybe the police _weren't_ on James' tail. Maybe they were rushing ahead in traffic towards something that would be of interest.

Qrow felt his heart nearly stop in his chest when the ground shook again with another explosion. Far up ahead of him, he saw the burst of flames, and then the rise of smoke.

One of them had finished their getaway. Qrow didn't know which one of them it was, and he didn't know that prying would get him anywhere. However, the buzz of his phone at his side told him everything.

Junior had gotten away. Roman's car had been abandoned and was just waiting for the signal for them to explode it.

That meant that there was just him and James left, and if they needed, they could call for Roman to cause chaos to help them out. Qrow swallowed hard and reached over for his phone, ready to send a message off to James-

The car swerved and Qrow forced his attention back to the road. He was making this worse than it needed to be and he knew it perfectly well. No time for that sort of distraction. James was the General. He was going to be the one pulling the strings on that little issue.

And god, how grateful was Qrow when he saw that police car that had been behind him and James speed on ahead, the driver's focus having been shifted away from James entirely. There was probably a call being made to say that there was a car with certain plates that was thought to be related to the robbery at the bank.

If that was the case, then Qrow hoped to every god that existed and to all of the ones that probably didn't as well that James and him were going to be able to make it out of this alive. Intact.

Focus. Qrow took a deep breath in through his nose and looked for the side of the road. There was going to be a bus coming soon, and he needed to be able to time this so that he could get to one without much trouble. He knew his cover, he was going to the gym.

That was what was the most important part, right? He knew his cover, he had his bags, and he was going to follow through. Then when he was a safe distance away, he would board, ride the bus out towards the warehouse, and then he'd be safe.

James though…

James had done this more times than he had, Qrow reminded himself. This sort of thing was nothing to James and that was something that he had to remember. James had years of experience unlike anything that he had.

No matter what, Qrow needed to trust James.

And yet he didn't know that he could, not when he remembered that slow kiss before they'd split off, the way that it had felt like something horrible. Like a goodbye.

The thought that James had been saying _goodbye_ was disturbing for Qrow, on quite a few levels. It suggested to him that James had done what he'd done knowing exactly what had the potential to happen. Perhaps even expecting it.

Qrow swallowed hard and tried to force himself not to think about it once again. There was still work to be done. No matter how many times he told himself that fact, it got harder and harder for him to remember it.

Not when he felt like his heart was trapped in his throat and it was going as hard as it possibly could.

"Dammit Jim." Qrow muttered under his breath as he reached over for his phone to see whether there were any new messages. When he glanced over its screen, nothing appeared and Qrow felt himself getting more and more worried.

 _Focus._

 _Drive._

Qrow pressed down on the gas pedal a little bit harder, heading off towards the side of the road that was meant to be his destination. He just had to get to the designated stopping point and then-

Another shake of the ground interrupted the thought before Qrow could finish it. He snapped his head up and saw another ball of flame that had burst into the air, and the slow rise of smoke. It had to have been Roman's car, he thought. They were just using yet another safety check-

His heart when still in his heart when he caught a glimpse of James' car in the rearview mirror.

It _swerved_.

It didn't just swerve. It swerved dangerously, and Qrow watched in abject horror as it plowed into a divider, going up in flames a second later.

The explosion came a second after that.

Qrow didn't know quite how it was possible, the way that he seemed to freeze over. His heart went cold, then his blood followed. He felt like there was an icicle freezing over in his mind, and he had to do something.

He reached for the phone with a shaking hand, watching as any remaining officers were diverted away to James' car. James' crash. James' _body_.

He needed to do something.

Qrow shook the entire time as he scrolled through names until he found Roman, because he was the first person that Qrow thought of that could help.

The voice on the other line was there almost immediately.

"Qrow-"

"Jim." Qrow snapped before Roman could say. "James crashed, he-"

He was hyperventilating. He needed to breathe. He couldn't.

Against all good logic, Qrow pulled off into an alley, parked far out of the way, and curled in on himself as he tried to calm down. No matter what, Qrow was sure that he had just watched James, James who he loved, die.

How was he supposed to pull himself together.

"Qrow?" Roman called to him. "Qrow, what are you talking about-"

"He crashed." Qrow barely managed to whisper. "I saw his car go into the divider and then…" He sucked in another breath, and did his best to calm his shaking. There was no way that he was going to be able to drive like this. "Roman I…"

"I get it." Roman said quietly, his voice going quiet and worried. He was talking to someone on the other line, and Qrow couldn't figure out who. Junior maybe? Ozpin? There was a moment of quiet, and then Roman's voice was replaced with another.

"Qrow." Ozpin said quietly to him. "Give me your position. I'm going to come and find you."

"What if-"

"Leave that to me." Ozpin said, their voice deathly calm. "I'll be there in a few minutes. Just tell me where you are."

Without any other option immediately apparent, Qrow barely managed to stutter out an answer before curling in on himself and waiting for anyone or anything to come that would help him.

When Ozpin arrived, Qrow wasn't able to say so much as a word to them. All he did was climb in with the money and stare out the window for the entire drive back.

James had said goodbye.


	88. Cold Comfort

The warehouse was in a state of near-chaos when Qrow arrived, all but being dragged in by Ozpin. He still couldn't even begin to concentrate, and just found himself clutching the bag that he'd taken tighter and tighter with trembling hands as he was walked inside.

How was he supposed to act calm when he knew what he had just seen? How could anyone expect that of him?

"Qrow!" Roman called, reaching out and rushing over towards him before wrpaping his arms around him. "Thank god you're..."

"James..." Qrow whispered, sstill feeling so broken after everything that he'd seen. "He's..."

"We don't know anything yet." Junior said, sitting by the table where Ozpin had been set up with their laptop earlier. He had a pair of headphones on, one ear completely covered while the other one wasn't. Sitting beside him was Ozpin's laptop, with what looked like twenty applications open and a police radio beside him. "I'm following the police scanner while they try to respond."

Qrow nodded, walking over towards where Junior was sitting and lowering himself into a spare chair that was there. He felt too shaky to be able to concentrate on much of anything beyond the chaos that he had seen out on the streets.

Roman sat next to him, and reached out and gently rubbed at Qrow's shoulders in a rather weak attempt to get him to calm down. How the others were able to hold anything together, Qrow didn't know.

Winter was off in a corner with Glynda, the older woman with her arms wrapped around the younger and presumably whispering comforts into her hair. Qrow couldn't imagine how they were feeling.

He couldn't imagine anything beyond what he was feeling himself. It left him feeling impossibly distant from everyone else in the room, even though they all had the same concerns and worries.

It was then that a thought occured to Qrow, one that he wasn't going to be able to shake.

Without James, he didn't have a place to stay anymore. He'd been spending all of his time with James, and now that everything had happened and James was...

Well, regardless of how James was, Qrow wasn't going to be able to go back to the house. He didn't have a way in, and if there ended up being problems, he couldn't be there anyhow.

The question was jsut where he went from there.

Roman's hand was still idly rubbing at his back, and Qrow forced himself to lean back into the other man's touch. At least this way he was going to be able to breathe. Follow the pace of Roman's hand. Match it.

Don't get caught up in his own head.

"Hey," Roman whispered to Qrow, "Where are you staying tonight?"

Qrow choked as he tried to give a response, curling in on himself a little bit more. Maybe he needed to ask for a way to get back to Taiyang's, but if he did and James turned out to be alive...

Then how was he supposed to be able to check up on James?

Would that even be possible?

It wasn't as though James ending up in the hospital or dead would be something that he could explain. It would raise too many questions, especially considering that Qrow had made it out...

And he'd made it out unscathed.

Everything was going to fall apart, Qrow was sure of it.

He choked again on his breath, folding in on himself even more in a weak attempt to calm down. "I..." He swallowed hard. "Should have been staying at Jim's."

Roman and Junior exchanged a look, and both of them seemed like they were at a loss for words. How could they say anything to that anyways? Not when they were in a situation that was going to get worse and worse.

They had a family, Qrow reminded himself. He couldn't just rely on them to take care of him all the time, but...

A voice broke through the space.

"Qrow, you can stay with me."

Qrow looked back over his shoudler to see Glynda standing there, looking down at him with her eyes soft and looking worried. She looked like she had somehow managed to age three years over the course of the last day.

And she was there, offering him a place to stay even though she didn't hve to. Even though Roman and Junior probably would have been glad to.

"You sure?" Qrow gasped, reaching up to his eyes to try and wipe away the tears that had gathered there. He was exhausted already.

"I'm sure." Glynda offered, placing a hand on Qrow's shoulder. "As long as you need."

Qrow nodded slowly. "Thanks." He whispered. He was shaking. He needed a drink. Would Glynda let him get a drink? Would she sit down with him and drink while the two of them could?

Qrow hoped so. He needed a drink more than ever. More than when Raven came around, or more than when she'd left. More than the one time where he'd had to bring Ruby to the hospital because she'd broken an arm falling off the monkey bars.

The discussion was entirely interrupted though, by just a simple wave of Junior's hand.

Qrow looked over at him and stared. There was a long moment before Junior began to speak.

"There's an ambulance at the crash." Junior explained, parroting whatever he was hearing through his headphones. "They're pulling James out."

"Shit." Roman mumbled, bringing his clenched fist up to his mouth to quiet himself. "Any-"

Junior frowned, still listening in closely. It finally came, and Qrow watched the look of relief on his face.

"Alive." He said, breathing hard. "He's alive."

"That's..."

"Probably not a good indicator." Ozpin interrupted, still sounding as cold as ever. "James' condition will likely be unstable for some time."

"But it's a start." Qrow snapped at Ozpin. "He's alive that means that he can get out of this!"

It was bad logic and Qrow knew it. Just because a police scanner was saying that James was alive now didn't mean that it would be the case later. It didn't meat that it would still be the case whenever James got to a hospital, or when they got him loaded up into an ambulance.

But it was all that he had to cling to.

Glynda looked down at him sympathetically and actually took a position beside him. She placed a surprisingly gentle hand on Qrow's shoulder and squeezed before looking to Ozpin.

"I think that it is best that we separate soon." Glynda suggested, looking from their leader to everyone else that was there. "We need it."

"No." Qrow protested. "I'm not going anywhere until I know what's-" He looked to Junior, who was still listening along to the radio without much to say. Junior just cast him back a sympathetic look that made Qrow's stomach feel like it had just dropped out his butt. "I'm not going anywhere until James is in the hospital. Or we know what's going on, or something."

"Qrow," Ozpin said, their voice scarily calm. "You know that it may be some time before we have a final verdict on James' prognosis." They paused, looking to all of the others and waiting for someone to say or do anything that could help.

"It may take a while." Roman mumbled as his voice cracked. "The first time we couldn't exactly go in and visit him that much until the very end." He frowned and leaned in, wrapping his arms around Qrow and pulling Qrow in towards him in an attempt to comfort. "It may be a long time before we know anything."

Qrow nodded slowly, at a loss for words. How was it that the longer they all sat there, the worse and worse it got? When there was so obviously a better way for things to be?

"Okay." He whispered, looking to Junior, then Roman, then everyone else. "Can we just... stay until we know that James is at the hospital?"

The others all looked among each other, and Ozpin sighed quietly. "Very well." They whispered. "We could probably all use the time to lie low anyhow, considering."

Qrow nodded, because he didn't know what he wanted to do after that. He needed to sit there and just try to breathe. He closed his eyes, and they opened a second later when all that he could see behind them was the fireball in his eyes. The thing that had happened to James. The accident. That thing that hadn't been supposed to happen.

James had said goodbye.

James hadn't even gotten a chance to say it to the others, had he? Had he gotten to make that statement to his own daughter?

Penny.

He didn't even know what was going to happen with Penny. Was she just going to end up staying with her mother, and maybe coming by Tai and Summer's once in a while. If he was going to end up seeing Penny a lot when things were so bad...

What was he supposed to say? Was he just supposed to pretend that nothing had ever gone wrong on this job? Qrow didn't even know.

They all ended up sitting there in relative silence, with Junior parroting whatever he heard on James' status and how everything was going once in a while. Finally, Junior's eyes widened and he leaned in slightly towards the radio that he had before looking to the others.

"He's at the hospital." Junior announced. "Alive. Going into critical care, and then..."

"Then we have no way of knowing." Roman whispered, and he sounded so tired and broken. Qrow just wrapped his arms around the redhead and pull him in closer, burying his face in Roman's neck.

"He'll be alright." Ozpin said, getting up. "We'll have to trust in that for the time being until we know otherwise." They looked to Glynda. "I'll be sure to make contact with some of the people within Atlesian General Hospital, and I'll do my best to keep all of you up to date on how he is."

"Thank you." Glynda said. She looked between Qrow and Winter. "Come on," She said quietly. "I have a place where you can stay, Qrow. Winter, do you want to-"

"I'd rather go home." Winter answered, looking so solemn and sad that it made Qrow's heart break. He remembered so many conversations that he'd had with James about it. Winter was practically James' daughter, and now...

Had it been this bad the first time that James' car had gone up in flames? Or were the reactions so watered down now because they had gone through this before?

Qrow dind't know, and he was afraid to find out either way.

Glynda reached out for him, and Qrow took her hand before she, Winter, and him left the warehouse and Ozpin, Junior, and Roman behind. For now, it was going to have to be jsut a matter of waiting.

Ozpin could keep them informed, Qrow hoped. It sounded like they had definitely done so in the past.

Qrow was just so scared of the way that this could end up.

Driving to Glynda's was a process that Qrow was barely even able to comprehend as it went by. The stress of the day and the worry that clung to his every inch simply refused to release him. Glynda seemed to understand though. She just sat by and looked over at him in a weak attempt to comfort and check that he was okay once of while.

Her home was even harder to take in. It was obviously high class in a way that Qrow wasn't used to seeing. Minimalist, white walls, the whole thing.

All that it really did for him was leave him feeling like he was in a hospital room.

Glynda sat him down at her kitchen table though, and went to get them both something to drink. Qrow couldn't help the relief that he felt when she slid him a mug of hot chocolate to match her own and then set a bottle of irish cream in the centre of the table.

"Thanks." Qrow murmured, even though his voice cracked when he said it. He was sore and exhausted, and his eyes hurt from too much crying earlier. He reached out for the bottle and poured a bit of the liquer into his hot chocolate before bringing it up to his lips and drinking.

Glynda stared across at him, doing the same. "Do you want to talk?" She asked, keeping her voice down. "About today?"

Qrow hesitated. "I don't know." he mumbled, curling in on himself a little bit more as he sat there. "It's not that simple, none of it is. If I could say taht I wanted to talk or that I felt like I could, I would, but..." He paused. "Was it like this last time?"

She was silent, looking down into her mug and swirling the drink inside. Qrow picked his head up and watched her, and he just realized that Glynda looked exhausted. Her hair was falling out of its bun, there were bags under her eyes, and she probably felt like she was ready to drop.

But, she had decided to take him home with her. She'd wanted to make sure taht he was going to be okay, despite the fact taht things ahd been awkward between the two of them in the past.

"It... was." Glynda said, after a long moment of hesitation. "We thought that he was dead for sure but..." She sighed, shrugging. "He's James Ironwood."

"So we should hold out hope?"

"We should." Glynda said quietly. "If I can trust anything when it comes to him, it's that it takes a lot to kill James. That's already been proven to us."

Qrow nodded. "It's just... scary." He paused. "I just really care about him, and now it's like he's just going to be gone."

Glynda sipped from her drink, sighing heavily as she set it down in front of her on the table. "I know." She said, like it was the most matter of fact thing imaginable. Like any semblance of an attempt to keep what was between him and James had just failed. "He told me."

That made Qrow's heart feel like it had stopped in his chest again. It sent a wave of anxiety over him that collided with the feelings that he'd already had. With shaking hands, Qrow reached out for his drink and brought it up to his lips. He drank deeply from it, hoping that the liquor would start to affect him soon.

It wasn't going to be fast enough. Qrow just needed to feel like something was going to stop him from feeling so worried. He needed to feel whole again. Back in the day he would have been lying in bed with Raven, and they would have passed a bottle of whiskey between the two of them until the feelings went away.

But he couldn't go to Raven. Not when she wasn't connected to things. Not when he couldn't exactly trust that she wouldn't end up saying something to someone.

All he had was Glynda, and he had absolutely no idea how he was supposed to deal with that. They weren't close. They never had been and they probably never would be. If anything, things had only ever managed to be beyond awkward between the two of them.

"He... told you?" Qrow asked, feeling his voice crack. "Why would he-"

Glynda sighed. "James is a private man," She explained quietly. "And sometimes when he gets worried he comes to me for help."

"Does he?"

"He does." Glynda confirmed again. "He and I used to be... close. Before the..." Her voice trailed off, and Glynda let out a frustrated noise. "We used to be. That's the point."

"Dating then?"

"Yes." Glynda confirmed. "It wasn't anything serious. More of a fling than anything else, I think he was lonely." She paused. "I don't blame him for it, and I don't blame you if it makes you uncomfortable."

Qrow swallowed hard. "It has." He mumbled, leaning forward and resting his head on his folded arms. "But I guess that I should have probably expected it."

Glynda nodded. "Just trust me when I tell you that James cares, a lot." She sighed. "If I know him he'll pull through." She paused. "If he doesn't, then we'll be able to do our best to make sure that his daughter makes it through."

Qrow's stomach flipped. Penny. Oh god, Penny was going to lose her father again. Either James was going to make it out of this alive, or she was going to find herself in a bad situation where she didn't have a father. James had been worrying about what would happen. Penny would be without a father, either because he was hospitalized again, or because he was dead.

That was something that Qrow was never going to be able to ignore. Something that he could never forget.

A part of him wanted to go ahead and call Taiyang and Summer, tell them what had happened. Let them know that they needed to do something to make sure that Penny was okay.

Not yet.

Later.

"Okay." Qrow mumbled, though he didn't exactly know who he was talking to about it. "I just..." He shook his head. "He knew this was going to happen. All of the times he talked about this job, he talked about how it was going to go wrong." Qrow swallowed hard, but found that it wasn't enough to make his nerves go down. "He knew, Glynda."

Glynda sighed, and nodded. "Do you want me to tell you this?" She asked.

Qrow picked his head up. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean that James..." She hesitated. "James always looks at jobs like they're doomed. Regardless of how much there is going for them or how foolproof the plans seem to be." She reached out for him, and set her hand on top of his. Like she was doing her best to give condolences for a death. "I know that isn't what you want to hear."

Qrow paused, because really, he didn't know what he thought of it. What was he supposed to even say to that.

"It's not." Qrow sighed. "I just... want to know that he's going to be okay."

"Ozpin will keep on top of it for us." Glynda said quietly. "They always have. Normally they don't bother with talking with anyone beyond me, but.."

"But the circumstances are different now?" Qrow asked, hoping taht he was going to get a good answer.

"They are." Glynda replied. "We just have to wait this out. I know that it isn't an ideal situation, but it's all that we can do right now." She sighed heavily. "As hard as waiting can be."

"Right." Qrow repeated, not believing a single word he said. "As hard as waiting can be."

"I'm not going to make you go to bed or anything." Glynda said quietly. "But you aren't going to be finishing off my liquor stash."

"Thank you." Qrow whispered. "It... means a lot for you to want to do this all for me." He mumbled. "I don't know that I deserve it, but..." He breathed out a heavy sigh. It didn't make him feel relaxed at all. "It means a lot. Really."

"I wasn't going to put you out in the cold. And I doubt that James would have wanted you to feel like you were left out in the cold yourself." Glynda smiled, though it was weak and forced. "It was really the least I could do."

Qrow smiled back, though he couldn't quite get himself to feel like it was going to be half as genuine as it looked.

"Well," Qrow murmured between sips of his drink. "Thanks, either way." He stared down into the dark liquid, swirling it in his mug and trying tof ocus on the warmth that seeped into his hands. He wished that it could take over his entire body, like James' warmth had radiated off of him in those nights they spent curled up in bed together.

James.

It was clear continuing to think about him wasn't going to get Qrow anywhere, and yet Qrow couldn't stop. Not when he had no idea whther or not he had lost him or not.

"I'm glad to.' Glynda murmured, sipping from her own mug and staring off like she could find something hidden amongst the void. "Really."

Qrow nodded along, unconvinced. He was going to have to find some way to pay Glynda back for it, but nothing came to mind. It wasn't like the two of them weren't walking away with a ton of money. What could he possibly offer to Glynda when she had a clean home of her own, and seemingly everything that seh could ever want?

Nothing came to mind.

It made him miss home even more.

He and Glynda managed to sink into a deeply uncomfortable sort of silence, and when the time came for Glynda to go to bed, Qrow made himself comfortable on the couch under the quilted blanket she'd passed along for him.

In the end, he found himself staring up at the ceiling, unable to drown out the fears in his heart and the thoughts in his head. He slipped outside and called Taiyang, because at least that way he could feel like he could breathe. That way he didn't risk waking Glynda up when that was so far from anything that Qrow could have wanted.

In the morning, Taiyang came and picked him up at Junior's bar, and Qrow was beyond glad for the cover it offered. At least this way Taiyang wasn't coming to find him in places that Qrow didn't belong, and wasn't going to James' house.

Every little bit mattered for keeping Qrow safe. Taiyang wasn't the type to ask questions normally, but Qrow needed any sort of safety he could get right now.

Qrow saw Taiyang's car and he almost felt relief as he climbed in beside his friend. Wordlessly, Qrow reached out and wrapped his arms around Taiyang so that he could bury his face in the blonde's neck.

If it shocked or scared Tai, he didn't say anything about it. Instead, Taiyang simply opted to pat the top of Qrow's head. "C'mon." He murmured, gently doing his best to detatch himself away from Qrow. "I'll drive, and you can tell me everything if you want."

Taiyang paused and focused on Qrow, sighing. "Breakfast is on me."

And for Qrow in that moment, with exhaustion clinging to him and nerves that refused to calm, nothing was more comforting. The only thing that could have really topped it would have been for Taiyang to tell him how James was doing.

But that wasn't possible. At least breakfast was going to be possible.

The car started moving and Qrow settled into his seat, hugging himself carefully before beginning to talk.

"Work is just... awful." Qrow mumbled, rubbing at his eye. "Can't trust anyone there and we have to deal with people going missing on the job now." He paused, toying and fidgeting with the end of his sleeve. "And now we don't know if someone's going to come back."

Taiyang nodded along, like he didn't even begin to pick up on there being something much worse going on than simple workplace spats. "Are you going to go back?" He asked, blinking and leaning in as he looked for a good place for the two of them to get breakfast.

Qrow hesitated, but he eventually answered, not feeling great about it at all.

"I don't know."

Taiyang nodded, understanding.

"That's ok, Qrow." He said quietly. "You know you're welcome with us for as long as you need to stay with us."

"I know." Qrow whispered, doing his absolute best not to think about how all of a sudden his original plans to leave had all fallen apart. Without James, he didn't quite know where things were going to go.

At least he still had his family, Qrow reminded himself. At least he had that.


	89. Sweeter Than Anything

**One Month Later**

From nothing, he opened his eyes.

He woke up.

He woke up exhausted, not quite sure of where he was and only aware of the white glare of sanitary lights over his head. He couldn't quite remember what had happened, not in full at least. There were bits and pieces, and one day he might have been able to put it back together, but-

He remembered the phone, he remembered the smell of fire and smoke. He remembered pain.

This felt too familiar for him. Like he'd been there before, and he didn't know what to do.

Wait, he realized. He's been here before.

James blinked slowly, trying to regain his sense of where he was. That was the least that he could do.

He pushed himself upright, doing his best to ignore the pain that shot through him. His muscles felt like they hadn't been used in weeks- possibly longer, and a quick look around the room left James wondering just how long he had been there. Without a calendar or a clear memory of what had happened, he couldn't figure that out so easily.

Either way, it wasn't a good situation.

A nurse buzzed into the room, and then the doctors came after her. James didn't know what much to say. Really, it was more like he was drifting by on an old habit. All using things that he'd said and done in the past.

Measure his pain on a scale of 1 to 10. Tell them what he remembered. Try to eat.

It was almost entirely a matter of getting by on autopilot.

Days passed him by. James didn't say much for most of them. He didn't want to tell people much of anything that he did know that had happened before the crash. Not when there was the chance that he had gotten hurt doing something illegal again.

Penny came. She crawled up into the hospital bed with him, bringing that teddy bear that she'd given him the first time. At a loss for words, all that James could think to do was offer the most minimal comforts possible. He wrapped himself up around her and held her close, praying to every god that could have existed that she would never have to go through this again.

It wasn't going to be enough. It never would be enough. That was something that James was sure of, but he did his best to take care of her nonetheless.

Penny would leave with her mother. James would feel a sort of guilt that shot through his chest as he watched her go. There were still missing pieces to the story, but James would put them together soon enough.

A month into his third attempt at life, someone came from his life before.

A year ago, months ago, a lifetime ago, James never would have wanted for it to have been who came for him.

So why did it have to be _them_?

"Hello, James." Ozpin said, hovering by the door. James blinked and sighed, trying to wrack his mind to figure out how Ozpin had gotten in. Most likely they had decided that they would claim that they were James' family. That would be the only way.

James looked to the door and nodded at it. Ozpin understood and closed the door behind them.

They took the seat that was beside James' bed. After that, Ozpin went silent and waited for James to take the lead on the discussion.

And he had so many questions. So many questions that James didn't know where he was supposed to start.

In the end, there was only one that would be a good start.

"How's everyone?" James asked, keeping his voice low and his eyes down. "Did they..."

"They made it out fine." Ozpin said quietly. "Money and all."

"Good." James mumbled, blinking and looking to the window. Staring out of it. "Why are you here?"

"I wanted to see that you were doing okay." Ozpin explained, staring him down. "You needed a lot of treatment. Although I am sure you are aware of the more fine details."

James nodded, and stared down at his right hand. The metal fingers moved slowly, articulated the same way that it had been before. Maybe it looked a little bit less clunky, but James wasn't confident on that.

He didn't doubt that he would find that his leg had suffered similar changes. James was sure that there had been replacements.

Mostly, James wasn't sure that he wanted to find out how bad it was. He didn't want to have to go through the process of getting used to it all again.

That wasn't so easy.

It never would be.

"I can see that." James said as quietly as he could. "Have you heard from any of them?"

"I'm afraid not." Ozpin answered, leaning in slightly. "Not since the last meeting. All of them more or less passed in their letters of resignation after your crash."

And that, that was something that James could have expected. It fit everything that he remembered from before the day of.

Qrow had said that Roman and Junior had wanted out. Qrow had wanted out.

Why had Qrow wanted out?

James wracked his mind, but nothing came to the forefront to explain it all. Did it have something to do with him?

Considering everything, James was almost certain that it did.

"They're all okay?"

"They are." Ozpin replied as calmly as they could. "A fund of sorts was set aside to ensure that you would be able to leave this with a paycheck in hand." Ozpin began to explain, crossing one leg over the other and resting their cane down at their side. "And once you are recovered enough, I am prepared to aid you in your upcoming custody battle, as we discussed."

James blinked. Right. The custody battle. That was still something that he had to look forward to, wasn't it? Penny was okay and she knew that he was okay. That was the most important thin.

Soon he would be able to help his daughter. He'd be able to bring her home with him, back to that house in Atlas that had been sitting dormant for months.

"Of course." James said, sitting up tall. There was so much that he was going to have to attend to that he didn't know where to start. Once he was able to go home, James was going to need to go ahead and get in contact with everyone. Let them know that he was okay.

Some of those would be harder than others, of that James was sure.

But there were so many things that he wasn't sure of, so h had some questions that he needed to try and ask.

"What happened?" James asked, craning his neck just slightly to check that the door was still closed. When he saw that the coast was clear, he looked back to Ozpin. "To cause it."

"The details are rather fuzzy." Ozpin said, shrugging slightly. "Since you were in the car alone, we can't pretend as though anyone knows the story for sure."

"Right." James affirmed, trying not to let himself get too annoyed with Ozpin. They were just doing their best to cover all of the bases, that had to be it. "So what happened?"

"As we understand it-" Ozpin began, staring James down so intently that it sent a shiver down James' spine. "You were scared by an explosion going off near your car. Roman's abandoned vehicle. After that, you swerved into the divider."

"And..."

"And with a car loaded with explosives there wasn't much of anything that anyone could have done to stop it." Ozpin finished finally. "All other parties that had still been in the field made it back to the warehouse and you were carted off to here."

"Like a miracle."

"More or less." Ozpin said with a slight shrug. "I'm sure that they would all want to know that your condition has improved." They paused, smiling. "I have it in my mind that we could call some of them and tell them that you're up."

"I would have to allow visitors." James said quietly. "But... I don't think that I would mind seeing some of them again." He felt like his heart was freezing. He could see Qrow again, and then...

And then...

James didn't know what came after that. He and Qrow would be able to talk and...

And then James didn't know. Maybe they'd talk now that there was finally an after again. Maybe he would be able to go forward and give whatever Qrow wanted a try. Patch the breaks in their relationship that had already been forged.

If James could survive this twice, then maybe luck would be in his favor on that front.

And just like that, he was able to make a decision. James picked his head up and looked Ozpin straight in the eye.

"Call them." He requested. "One at a time. I..." He hesitated again. "I want to see Winter first and Qrow..." James swallowed hard. "I want to see Qrow last. And alone."

His voice went too soft and quiet.

"It's important."

Ozpin stared at him and there was the slightest quirk of a frown on their lips. Like they had somehow been expecting better from him, but James wasn't too concerned with it. He knew what he wanted and he was fairly sure that he knew what he needed.

That was to see his friends in a requested order because that way he was going to have the chance to steel himself for whatever would come next.

There was an awkward silence that settled there for a few minutes but Ozpin did eventually sigh, nod, and relent. James watched silently as they got up and left the room, making a call to who knows who.

Almost as soon as they hung up, James was willing to expect that news was going to spread like wildfire. It was only going to be a matter of time before James was going to be hearing from all of his friends. All that he could do now was wait and hope that they would all ultimately respect his wishes.

James closed his eyes and relaxed back into his bed. If he wanted to he was sure that he could listen in on what Ozpin was saying, but James wasn't sure that was what he wanted. Ozpin was smarter than he'd given them credit for, James knew. They would know how to censor their words.

Ozpin would come back in and lower themself into the seat at James' bedside. James opened his eyes and looked over at them expectantly, and a moment later they spoke.

"Winter will be on her way." Ozpin explained calmly, leaning back where they were sitting. "She should be here later on today."

"Good." James replied, looking to the window and allowing himself to stare out it as he relaxed. "Thank you for coming to check up on me, Ozpin." James said quietly.

This was going to be his change to get some of the awkwardness that was between himself and Ozpin out of the way. That was important. James could do it, he was sure of it.

Ozpin nodded. "I supposed that it would be the best thing for me to do." They hesitated, their hazel eyes flickering away from James. "I know that you and I hadn't exactly been on good terms before."

"Of course." James mumbled. "Your choice to keep on breaking into my home had quite a bit of it."

"Right." Ozpin nodded. "I suppose that I didn't exactly take the best methods of making contact."

"No," James replied. "You didn't."

"And that is something that I would like to apologize for, James." Ozpin said, turning now and drawing James' attention over to them. Their eyes met and for that time, they stared each other down in a way that possessed some of the animosity of before.

But it wasn't quite like that anymore, James knew. This was something better. Something much different.

Ozpin's apology was one that James didn't quite know that he could accept easily. But, if he was going to be able to move on with his life, then the best way to start would be for him to forgive and...

Well, forgetting wouldn't be that easy.

But he could forgive and move on with his life.

Or, he could do the closest thing possible to forgiving when everything was taken into perspective.

"I accept your apology." James said, bringing in a deep breath in an attempt to relax himself as much as possible. "Please, Ozpin, just promise me that once this is over you will give me the space to live my life."

"You have my word." Ozpin replied. "I know that I've caused you undue stress and that you would like to move on."

"I would." James replied. "Thank you for understanding, Ozpin."

Ozpin nodded along their understanding, slow and sure. James was glad for it. It meant that the two of them were really going to be able to start moving on soon.

And that was all that either of them wanted, it seemed.

"It's no problem." Ozpin said quietly. They looked to James. "I can assure you that once this is all over with and you have your daughter, you will never hear from me again."

"That's all that I want." James replied. "I'm sure that the two of us will have payment to discuss in the future, but for now..." His voice trailed off and James looked to the door.

Winter was going to be getting there soon, and then everyone else was going to come after.

He needed to start getting ready for it.

"Of course." Ozpin replied. They got up and stretched slightly, turning to the door and heading out. James was left alone, and so he took the chance to relax while he waited.

Winter would arrive, and the two of them would spend all of their time talking. James reassured her, told her that he was okay. Promised that he had a life once this was all over with.

She was strong, James knew. Winter was more than ready for whatever her life would bring her to next, but for the now she was going to just live her life.

And really?" That was all that James wanted to know that she was doing.

It meant that she was safe, and happy, and that was sweeter than anything that money could buy.


	90. The Getaway

His guests buzzed in and out over the course of the day, ultimately all of them melting together into a sort of blur. Winter and James' talk had taken ages to get through. James and Glynda's talk had been similar.

Roman and Junior had come to him and they'd been so happy to tell James that the two of them were doing well these days. They were able to focus on Junior's business full-time, and were looking into buying a house sometime. They wanted to have a place where all of their daughters could have their own bedrooms, and places to play. There was even the possibility of giving Junior's mother a wing of the house. For the two of them, it seemed that they were just dealing with the matter of finding the perfect place.

James thought that the plans sounded ambitious, but he wasn't going to be the one to tell Junior and Roman that. If the two of them thought that they could have all of that, then they could.

Between each visit, Ozpin would come in, take a seat across from James, and the two of them would talk. It was just down to small talk at that point. In a way, Ozpin's presence gave James chances to lie back and relax. He didn't have to worry about things as much as he would have otherwise.

Eventually Qrow would arrive, and James would spend a lot of time pretending as though that wasn't something that set his nerves on fire. He didn't even know where he was supposed to start with a conversation with Qrow at this point. It had been a month, and the two of them hadn't exactly last separated on the best of terms.

But it was time for them to talk, and James was dedicated to it.

Qrow stepped into the doorframe and looked between James and Ozpin. There wasn't even so much as a second's worth of protest before Ozpin was on their feet and hurrying out of the room. Qrow watched them go and then stepped inside for himself, pulling the door closed behind him.

James took a deep breath. There were so many things that he wanted, no, needed to be able to say, and he didn't know where he was supposed to start with any of it.

"You can sit down." James said, knowing that he was probably coming off as stilted. "If you'd like."

"Thanks, Jim." Qrow said, still using that old affectionate nickname as though nothing had never changed. The fact that the name was still in play was enough to make James feel like his heart had skipped a beat. It meant that there either was some sort of affection inside of Qrow, or it meant that he didn't know where to start.

And neither did James.

But one of them needed to be able to get this going.

"How are you?" James asked, even though he probably shouldn't have been the one asking that question. Qrow should have been asking about him, not the other way around. But Qrow was going to want to talk, and so James was going to give him the space to go ahead and do that.

Qrow eyed him warily and seemed to relax at least a little bit into his seat. "Oh, you know." He shrugged. "Doing fine."

"That's good." James mumbled. "I'm glad that you made it out okay."

"Yeah." Qrow said, his voice going all sullen and quiet. His red eyes flickered away from James and there was a furrow on his brow that managed to speak very loudly to a feeling that James couldn't quite name. "I'm glad you made it out, too."

James nodded, because that was the part of the conversation that he'd been dreading. "Me too." He mumbled. "I'm sorry." The words came out too quietly, and they sounded a little too broken as they left James' mouth.

"Oz said it was an accident." Qrow said, hesitating. Like there might have been some doubts that he was holding. And those particular doubts, that specific question, those were enough to leave James reeling. Had there been some sort of doubt as to what happened. "What happened to you, I mean."

"It was." James sighed. He looked out the window, staring out at the treetops and watching as a little bird flew out from among the branches. "It's kind of a blur, but that's right. I'm sure of it."

"Are you?"

"I am." James replied. "I think I heard the explosion and it was so close that I just..."

"Locked up?" Qrow asked.

"Yes." James murmured. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not mad." Qrow said, reaching out and placing one hand on top of James' metal hand. James turned his hand so that Qrow's hand could rest in his palm, but the sensation didn't quite bleed through. Not yet, at least. "I'm just... tired, Jim."

"Me too." James sighed. "I hear you got out."

"I did." Qrow answered, leaning back in his seat. "All of us did. I got out, took a job with Junior's full-time, moved out so that I can have a place for myself." He shrugged. "It's not great, but it's mine and that's what's the most important thing."

James blinked, because he hadn't known that much. He'd been expecting for Qrow to keep everything that he'd been up to very far under the covers. No chance that anyone would know what sorts of things he was doing in his spare time. Perhaps he'd found a good way to explain the story away eventually.

Either way, James was happy for Qrow. It meant that he'd gotten some of what he wanted.

"I'm glad." James sighed, leaning his head back. "How are your family?"

"They're doing okay." Qrow shrugged. "Ruby and Yang hang out with Penny still. Pretty much at any chance that they get. I'm surprised you haven't heard much about it."

James smiled slightly. "We'll just say that who Penny is playing with on weekends hasn't been a high priority..." Unable to find the words that he needed next, James just gestured around the hospital room. "Just not what we've been talking about."

"Makes sense." Qrow sighed. He was looking down at the space where their hands had met, and James watched as Qrow swiped his thumb over the back of his hand. "I've been thinking about that day a lot, you know that?"

"I would have guessed as much." James replied, lacing their fingers together and trying to give as gentle of a squeeze as possible. The new arm and leg were going to take some getting used to, and so he wasn't so confident that his fine motor control was as good as it could have been. "I shouldn't have..." He paused.

The two of them had kissed before James had driven off to his almost-death.

That wasn't something that he was just going to be able to gloss over like it had never happened. Qrow wasn't going to allow it, of that James was very certain. Not when there were too high of stakes, not when it had been too emotionally charged.

But James needed to say it. He needed to finish what he was trying to say and finally just get it out in the open so that he and Qrow could stand on equal footing again.

"I shouldn't have kissed you like that." James finally stated, letting out every word with such emphasis that they already managed to sound like they were punctuated individually. "And I'm sorry."

"Thanks." Qrow mumbled, looking over at James more directly now. "But I uh... I'm not mad about it, if that's what you were thinking."

"You aren't mad?" James asked, because somehow that hadn't been what he'd been expecting. He'd been expecting for Qrow to be looking for more catharsis out of this, and yet there didn't seem to be any. "Are you sure?"

"I am." Qrow answered. "It was hard at first, but I feel like..." His voice trailed off. "Were you saying goodbye when you did that? Were you saying goodbye to me?"

"I don't know." James admitted. "If I was thinking straight I don't know..." He paused, because somehow that was something that he'd never really considered being part of the equation, that idea of 'thinking straight.' It suggested something to him that he was deeply uncomfortable with.

But could he really deny how he had been feeling that day? Could he act as though he wasn't walking from room to room and taking breaths with the weight of such heavy fear weighing him down as a constant?

He couldn't. That was something for which James was all but absolutely certain.

He needed to do something to get this conversation back under his control. James needed to know that he was in control of this, and that meant that he needed to talk to Qrow very honestly about everything that had happened between the two of them. James sucked in some air from between his teeth and began again.

"I was scared." James admitted, looking away from Qrow and down at a spot on the ground instead. That way he could at least feel at least a little bit less like he was being heavily scrutinized for what he needed to say. "I was afraid, and I wanted- needed something to remind me that..." His voice trailed off, and James swallowed. There was nervousness and anger built up in his throat. Something that he wasn't going to just be able to brush off and keep on talking. "That there was something to look forward to on the other side."

"So..." Qrow hesitated, and James could practically see that he was tasting every syllable out. Qrow wasn't looking forward to this, that was clear enough. But they had to talk. "You were thinking about there being good after it was over."

"I was." James sighed. "I'm sorry."

Qrow was silent, and from his peripheral vision James could see the man nodding slowly. But Qrow didn't let it last. He got up, and walked over towards the spot where he could see that James had already focused his vision. He dropped into that spot on the ground and stared up at James with those intense red eyes of his. The message was sent easily enough, it told James everything that he needed to know about how things were.

Qrow would not go ignored. That much was clear.

"Jim," Qrow started, his expression twisting just slightly as he leaned forward. Qrow was balancing his weight on his elbows, which rested on top of his crossed knees. "You were going to leave, remember?"

"I do." James mumbled. "But I don't know that-" He stopped himself. Took a deep breath so that he could calm down again. "I don't know that's what I actually want to do anymore, Qrow."

"Oh."

"Yeah." James chuckled. "Oh."

The levity of it wouldn't last though. James felt himself sink down into himself again. It wasn't as though this was a decision that he was allowing himself to make lightly, and while he was sure that Qrow was going to figure that out, James needed to be outright with him. That was going to be the most important thing, James was sure of it.

"I..." He swallowed again, balling his hands into fists into an attempt to remind himself of where he was again. "I figure that if I'm going to keep on ending up like this then I should just..." He paused. "I like you a lot, Qrow." James sighed finally. "I know that it's been a while since we've gotten to talk, but I like you a lot. And if I've survived this sort of thing twice now then just maybe luck is on my side."

Qrow's eyes widened, and James saw the man's mouth drop open a little bit like there was something that he desperately wanted to say but wasn't able to get out. "You-"

"If you want it," James began calmly. "I'd like to see you in a more..." He hesitated, looking for a word that didn't come to mind so easily and probably never would. "Casual setting."

"You're... asking me on a date?" Qrow asked, clearly just trying to make sure that the two of them were still on the same page with the conversation. "Is that it?"

"Yes." James sighed. "It is. Would you want to?"

"Yeah." Qrow said, smirking. "I think that I'd like to give it a try."

James nodded slowly. "I don't want to rush into it, though." He explained. "I still have a lot going on, but I don't think that it would hurt to try."

"Nothing wrong with trying."

"So is that it?"

"I dunno, Jimmy." Qrow smiled. "Is it?"

If James had an actual good answer to that question, he didn't know how comfortable he was giving it. But since this was Qrow, and this was a conversation that was probably going to be a game-changer, James needed to do his best.

"I don't know if it is." James admitted, and he couldn't help that painful pang of guilt that made its way up to the surface. "The fact is that there are a lot of things that'll go into it. I don't know if I will be able to do things that easily, or anything, but..." He paused, looking Qrow in the eyes and putting on the kindest smile for the man possible. "I think that I'd be willing to try. For you."

"For me." Qrow repeated, like he was doing his best to get used to the idea. "I'm open to it, Jim. I get it. You've been through some shit..." He looked away, and James could feel his heart beat a little more uncomfortably and harder when he realized that Qrow was staring at his replaced hand. James turned it over next to him and looked down at it himself. The shiny metal fingers, the articulated black joints. "And you've got other things to worry about. I get it."

"Thanks." James murmured. "I just want to take it slow, if we do this."

"I'm okay with slow." Qrow shrugged. "It isn't like it hasn't been a while for the two of us to be doing things together."

"It's been a few months." James agreed. "So we'll take it slow?"

"Slow and steady wins the race, right?" Qrow asked.

James nodded and he looked to the machines that were at his side. Maybe he could...

The best thing that he could do was just try.

James began to scoot over on the bed, making some room so that Qrow could go ahead and climb up with him if he wanted to. Qrow gave him a weird look, and James only answered it by gently patting the space on the bed beside him.

Qrow understood and got up to his feet before crawling in next to James. The two of them were pressed together, and it was comfortable. Qrow was warm and he smelled nice, and James wanted to be able to go ahead and reach out to pull him in closer. But it wasn't for the best if the two of them were going to avoid getting close like that.

"Hey." Qrow said, smiling up at him. "You miss me that much?"

"More than you realize." James admitted. He let his head hang a little bit, closing his eyes and sinking into the bed a bit more. "I'm thinking that once things calm down, I'm going to get out of Atlas. Go somewhere nice."

"Somewhere far from all of this?"

"Yeah." James murmured, reaching over and twining his fingers together with Qrow's. "Far from it all."

"Sounds nice." Qrow replied, smiling. "I wouldn't mind that."

James nodded and turned his head, nuzzling into Qrow's neck. "I think that depending on things..."

"Yeah?"

"There might be room for one more on my trip."

"But it's a long way down the line, right?"

"Yeah." James repeated, feeling at peace. Comfortable. Content. Happy, almost. "A long way."

"I'll walk it with you."

"I trust you."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

Qrow's head rested on James' shoulder, and James rested his head against the other man's head. This was about as good as it was going to get, and James didn't plan on letting it fall apart at any point.

Now things were different though. He and Qrow had managed to make it out. They'd not only made it out, they'd made it out alive and without getting into trouble. Somehow, despite all of James' doubts, everything had panned out.

His friends were well.

He was going to get his daughter back, even if that was going to be a long struggle down the road.

He had Qrow.

And all because of something strange, something unnamed that James was sure that he was never going to be able to put his finger on.

It hadn't been a routine job.

There hadn't been anything routine about it. While it might have had its similarities to the things that he'd done in his past, this job was something else. It hadn't just been any other robbery.

He hadn't been meant to lose control of his car.

He wasn't supposed to plunge into a dividing barrier because he'd been scared into uselessness.

He wasn't supposed to end up back in a hospital room, clinging to the edge of his life again.

It was a miracle that this time around, he was calm. It was a miracle that this time around, he was okay. It was an even greater miracle that he was awake and ultimately, he was okay, along with everyone around him.

The greatest miracle of all was that he had a life ahead of him, and people at his side to go there with.

And that was the sweetest gift of all.

The End.


End file.
